Transformers Prime: Demons Past and Present
by Dark Maiden95
Summary: After her abusive father finally goes too far, Elizabeth Dowell moves in with her neighbor and best friend, Jack. But she is soon dragged into the conflict with the Decepticons. Can she survive that while avoiding her father's vengeance?
1. Chapter 1

My first attempt at a Transformers Prime fic. I don't get the Hub on my TV at home, so I have to watch all the episodes on YouTube, so forgive me for any inaccuracies. Whether or not this story is continued will depend on the amount of reviews I get. No flames, but constructive criticism is welcome.

**WARNING: This chapter does contain abuse.**

Chapter One: Out of Hell

Darkness. Her only companion. Fear. The only emotion she knew now. Clamping both hands against her mouth, Elizabeth Ann Dowell (called "Liza" by her friends) struggled vainly to stifle her sobs of pain from her fresh wounds, and fear for her life, never knowing when he would go too far. After she'd finally escaped her father's wrath, Liza had bolted into her room and hidden in her closet. Her fiery red hair fell around her face like a curtain and her jade green eyes were shiny and wet with tears.

Only a sliver of moonlight filtered in through the crack in her closet door, but it was all Liza needed to see the damage: several large, dark bruises on her upper arms, courtesy of her father's unGodly powerful hands grabbing her, and some small cuts from his short, but sharp fingernails digging into her skin. She felt her cheek, wincing at the touch. He had punched her as well, and it felt a little wet, likely bleeding.

Liza listened carefully. If the TV was still sounding, it meant her father was still awake. He went to bed rather early, which was fortunate; it allowed her to sneak over to a friend's house right across the street if she had to. This was an almost nightly occurrence, for obvious reasons. Sometimes Liza would make a risky move and not even wait until he was in bed, but she would only attempt this if he was passed out drunk, or simply too drunk to notice or care.

As the TV announcer droned on from the living room, Liza sighed and sank back into the wall of her closet, thinking of all the events that had led to her situation. Her father had always been an alcoholic – and abusive. When Liza's mother, Diana was still alive, he would smack her around too. Diana had repeatedly tried to persuade her husband to get some help for his addiction, but that only resulted in more beatings for both her and their daughter. Then, when Liza was only six years old, Diana passed away in a horrible car accident. Ever since then, Liza had been completely at the mercy of her abusive father, Raymond. Diana's death only worsened Ray's alcohol problem, and Liza paid the price for it. The beatings became much more frequent, essentially nightly, except for the rare occasion that he came home too drunk to pay her any mind. He had no job, so he basically spent all his time at home or at the bar getting soused.

Liza always wore a jacket to school, regardless of the temperature outside (which was always hot) to hide all the marks of abuse. The ones she couldn't hide (like the one on her cheek) she made up stories about, like getting hit with a soccer ball. She had a few scars as well; there was one on her stomach after her father had kicked her down and pressed down hard with an iron until the skin broke.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the sounds of the television died and Raymond's footsteps headed for his room down the hall. Time to make her move. Grabbing her shoes (a silver pair of flats) and carrying them in her hand, Liza tiptoed down the carpeted hallway until she reached the front door. Slowly opening and closing it, thanking her lucky stars that the hinges didn't creak. Slipping on her shoes, she darted across the street, silently cheering when she saw the inside lights still on. She slowed to a walk as she approached the house and rang the doorbell.

If her gaze had strayed to the garage, she would have noticed a blue motorcycle slowly inching out the garage door, an invisible look of disgust and rage on its face.

Seconds later, the kind, familiar figure of June Darby opened the door, smiling kindly – a smile that vanished the instant she saw Liza's cheek.

"Elizabeth, again?"

The girl silently nodded, feeling the tears surfacing again.

"Come on in, honey. Let's see if we can take care of that cut." June led her inside and sat her down on the couch while she got her first aid kit out. Being a nurse, she always knew how to handle Liza's injuries.

Liza was always welcome in the Darby household. June and her son, Jack were well aware of the abuse that took place in the Dowell home every day; Liza spent every weekend there as well, often joining Jack and their friends, Miko and Raf at the mall, or the movie theater, or some other place. Liza didn't let up that she knew this, but June had called the Child Protection Agency on Raymond Dowell at least three times – all three times he'd acted like the loving, nurturing father who'd do anything for his little princess. And after every visit, he'd shown his devotion to his daughter with a series of thrashes and even some belt-whipping at times.

"Jack," June called upstairs, "Liza's here!" Immediately, footsteps rushed down the stairs and into the living room. Jack Darby looked at his friend on the couch, obviously worried for her.

"Hey, Liza," he smiled as he took a seat next to her and June entered the room. "What happened?"

"I was getting a snack from the fridge and he got angry at me for 'interrupting his show.' He punched me and I fell into the corner of the kitchen table." Liza winced as June applied hydrogen peroxide to the cut on her cheek.

Jack looked down, too disgusted and enraged for words. June inaudibly growled, equally furious as she finished tending the wound. "I swear, if that man doesn't shape up soon, you're just going to live here, Elizabeth Dowell. I don't care what the Child Protection Agency says; how they've been unable to see that he is horribly unfit as a parent is beyond me." The woman heaved a sigh to calm herself down and put the first aid kit back under the kitchen sink. "Why don't you stay here tonight?" June offered. It was not the first time; Liza had spent many nights at the Darby household. She'd even begun to keep a few sets of clothes, pajamas, and her schoolbag there full-time. Jack took her to school every morning on his motorcycle as well. Liza smiled and nodded.

"Sure, thank you."

**~~The Next Night~~**

Liza felt her heart rate spike as she heard the garage door opening. When she'd returned home from the Darby home after school, Raymond had been absent, probably at the bar. When he opened the door, her suspicions were confirmed. But he was different tonight. He looked furious, demonic even, further accented by his bloodshot eyes.

"They've banned me . . ." his words were so slurred, it was hard to understand him as he pointed at her with one of his large fingers, "because I put some crazy bastard in his place. I can't go back no more . . . and it's ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Grabbing a butcher knife off the counter, Raymond lunged for his daughter, who was already on her feet, prepared to run. He stabbed at her, but she dodged and the knife only pierced empty air. Raymond chased Liza as she bolted for the front door.

"Oh, no you don't!" The drunken lunatic managed to seize the back of his daughter's shirt and pull her back towards him. Liza screamed in pure agony as an indescribable pain erupted from her lower back. Raymond, in his rage, shoved the wounded girl to the ground and drove the butcher knife into her stomach.

_No, I have to fight back! I'll die if I don't!_ Liza somehow gathered enough strength to kick her assailant into the wall. As she staggered to her feet and rushed for the door, she felt the sharp blade tear through her shoulder and halfway down her arm. Liza stumbled and nearly collapsed, but managed to regain enough balance to push her father away again and bolt outside.

The normally short distance felt like miles to Liza as the rapid blood loss began to take its toll. Dizziness set in and her balance began to deteriorate. Finally, she made it to the Darby's front door.

"Jack, help!" She shrieked as loud as she possibly could, banging on the door. She knew that June would be working, but since it was Saturday, Jack would be home, likely with Miko and Raf. Her vision blurred as the blood loss continued to ail her. Unable to stand any longer, Liza slumped to her knees as Jack threw the door open.

"Liza!" The sixteen-year-old knelt down and helped her walk into the house.

As he set her down on the sofa, the last thing Liza was aware of was Jack shouting, "Miko, call for an ambulance!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Well? Any good at all? Leave a review on your way out!


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thirteen reviews on the first chapter? Thanks, guys! :D **

**Just a heads-up, this chapter is not nearly as detailed as the last one. I apologize (stupid school, frying my brain...) :( I hope you'll keep reading and reviewing anyway!**

**This should be obvious, but I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does.**

**Okay, done rambling. Enjoy! :D**

Chapter Two: Free

"Ugh . . . ugh . . ."

_**She lay on the ground, clinging to life with every ounce of willpower she had. But that grip was slipping away with each passing second. Drenched in her own blood, Elizabeth managed to look into her attacker's eyes. His deep green pupils matched hers perfectly. Only his were filled with hatred and rage. As the girl used the last of her strength to flee for her life, one last blast of agony shot through her body. **_

"Ahhh!" The girl's eyes shot wide open and she clutched her chest instinctively, to calm her pounding heart. But something wasn't right. This didn't look like her bedroom. Or Jack's house. The walls were a soft gray color, and the tile flooring was stark-white. There was an odd looking machine next to her bed as well.

Looking down, Liza found that she was wearing a white gown, and had a turquoise band around her wrist.

"Where . . ."

As if on cue, someone walked into the room.

"Elizabeth Dowell," the person inquired, more as a statement than a question. It was a middle-aged woman, easily four or five years older than June Darby. Her chestnut hair hung by her earlobes, a cute flip giving it some life. "How are you feeling," the nurse asked.

"It really hurts," the girl answered in a low, tired voice; she had to pause and catch her breath. "Especially . . . down there." Liza pointed out the pain by moving her hands closer to her lower back and stomach, where two of the stabs had pierced her. "And . . . my shoulder . . ." But through it all, she managed a small smile. "Pretty good otherwise." The nurse smiled back before sharing her news.

"Fortunately, nothing vital was struck. All of your organs are functioning just fine. But you still lost a lot of blood. You needed a transfusion, which went very well. You're going to be just fine after you recover."

Liza heaved an almost inaudible sigh of relief. "That's great. But . . . what happened to my dad? He's the one who attacked me."

"He rushed over to your neighbor's home to retrieve you," the nurse explained. "He tried to attack your friends, but luckily they were able to fend him off until police arrived. I'm told Jack Darby managed to pin him to the house with his motorcycle." Neither Liza nor the nurse could hide an amused smile at the mental image.

"Are you feeling up to visitors? They've been asking to see you for quite a while." The nurse didn't name Liza's guests, but she didn't need to. The girl nodded. The nurse left the room for a few moments and returned with three people.

"Liza!" Miko immediately rushed over to her friend's bedside.

"Miko, ow!" Liza tried to return her friend's crushing embrace, while trying to push her away, at least enough to relieve the intense pain she was feeling. It felt like her entire back was being stabbed with thousands of flaming knives as Miko pressed against the wounds.

"Miko, be careful with her!" Jack hurried over and pried the overexcited girl away from Liza, who took in huge gulps of air, trying to suppress the pain. As it finally died down, she turned to her younger friend.

"How are you feeling, Liza," Rafael inquired as he cautiously approached her bedside. It was obvious he'd been crying; his eyes were shiny and looked a little bloodshot.

"Much better now, Raf. I'll be fine," the injured girl answered, drawing the boy into a gentle hug. She then turned to the raven-haired boy whom she'd trusted with her life. "Jack . . ." She almost burst into tears when they wrapped their arms around each other. ". . . thank you. All of you. I'm alive because of you!"

Before any of them could answer, a fourth visitor rushed inside.

"Elizabeth!" June Darby fought her sobs with all her willpower and collected the wounded girl in a firm, yet gently embrace. "I'm so sorry I wasn't home! When I learned that you'd been brought in, bleeding to death . . ."

"It's okay, Mrs. Darby, really," Liza sheepishly smiled as she tried to prevent the woman from breaking down. "I'm okay, Jack's okay, everyone's okay. So, what's going to happen to me now? Neither of my parents ever mentioned any relatives that would get me."

Before June could answer, the sound of an electric guitar echoed throughout the room.

"Oh, sorry," Jack chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "I'll take this in the hall." Miko and Raf followed him outside the room. Looking in all directions, Jack opened his cell phone and spoke as quietly as he possibly could, while still allowing the caller to hear him.

"Hey, Arcee."

"_Jack, how's Liza doing? I couldn't stick around very long before I was called to take out some 'Cons."_

"She just woke up a few minutes ago; she's gonna be fine."

Three sounds were heard from the other end: Arcee's great sigh of relief, a male's voice quietly cheering, and several high-pitched electronic beeps.

"By the way, Arcee," Raf smiled, "thanks for helping us hold her dad down until the cops showed up."

"_Believe me, it was my pleasure."_ There was a small amount of bite to the female Autobot's voice. _"I just wish I could have done a bit more."_

Footsteps echoed from down the hall.

"Someone's coming," Jack announced. "We'll talk later, okay?" He hung up as a doctor walked by. When he had gone, Miko spoke up.

"It really stinks that Optimus wouldn't let you introduce her to Arcee. She's gonna be with you for a while, she may as well know what's going on!"

Raf nodded sadly. "Besides, the Decepticons would attack Arcee whether Liza was aware of their existence or not! She'd probably find out eventually."

"We'll talk about this later," Jack sighed. It was obvious he didn't agree with Optimus's decision either, but he knew it was out of his hands. "It's getting late. You guys should head home."

"All right, see you at school tomorrow." Raf waved goodbye as Miko followed him to the exit.

**~~A Few Days Later~~**

The sun's rays shone down on Liza as she descended the steps in front of Jasper High. It had only been one day since she'd left the hospital, but she'd already settled in quite nicely in the Darby home, having practically lived there her entire life anyway.

This had embarrassed Liza to no end, but June had insisted on shopping for clothes, since Liza had only owned a few sets, both at home and the Darby house. Today the girl was wearing an amber tribal print tank top with a small emerald in the middle, matching her eyes perfectly. Liza had not bothered to wear any kind of cover-up, assuming that the news of Raymond Dowell's arrest had already reached every student in the building. In light of the hot weather, she also donned pale blue jean capris and flip flops to match her top. Two sapphires dangled from slim gold chains hanging from her ears, and brushed her neck with every turn of her head.

Plopping down on the bottom step, Liza clutched a sweatshirt and a pair of tennis shoes as she waited patiently for Jack. He had promised to take her for a ride on his motorcycle after school that day. Even though the pair had ridden the motorcycle to school every day for the past year, Liza was excited; she'd never been on a ride just for fun before. Finally, she heard shoes clopping down on the cement steps. Turning around, the girl smiled, expecting to see her childhood friend. But a sour grimace quickly replaced it when Liza saw whom was walking toward her.

"Hey, Lizzie," the boy drawled, obviously trying to be sexy. Liza internally groaned when he spoke. She hated being called "Lizzie".

"Go away, Vince," Liza growled, pushing his face away. But the redhead ignored her, firmly grabbing hold of her hand and examining it, like he'd never seen one in his life.

"I see you finally decided to shed some layers." Liza felt like vomiting as Vince slowly dragged his fingers up her arm to her shoulders. His voice became sickly-sweet. "But you still look _so hot!_" Grabbing the girl's other arm, Vince tried to pull her into a lip-lock. He was caught completely off guard when something other than her mouth connected with his face.

"In your dreams, you pig!" Liza declared as she smacked him. Standing up, she turned to leave. "Go slobber over someone else for a change! Maybe you can brainwash her into doing your will." Marching away, she groaned at her misfortune of having Vince so interested in her.

Vince was the school bully in every way. He harassed the middle schoolers, often stealing their lunch money, shoving them into lockers, and just plain treating them like garbage. The older students were little better off; she'd witnessed one scene where Ron Stevens, a sophomore, had fought to keep his lunch money, only to have his nose broken by the cruel redhead that was Vince. Liza knew that Vince would regularly harass Rafael and Jack as well, making her loathe him even more. It was no secret that he'd dated just about every girl in the junior class, either. A boy like that just was not worth Liza's time, affection, or friendship.

"Liza!"

Liza turned her head to see Jack hurrying towards her from her left. Smiling at her friend, Liza stopped walking.

"'Bout time, Jack! You've kept me waiting," she playfully scolded as they reached the blue motorcycle.

"Sorry, I had to finish a test. Math is really not my strong suit," the boy groaned. "You ready to go?"

"Of course." Liza slipped on her sweatshirt and switched shoes before Jack handed her her gray helmet. The redheaded female exhaled deeply with excitement as the motorcycle pulled out of its parking space.

No one was aware of two purple sports cars quietly pursuing them.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Sorry for how short and boring this chapter was, but I promise it's going to get better very soon! Please review before you go!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to all who reviewed! Here's more of the story!**

**Also, this story is AU, since Starscream is still a Decepticon. Sorry I forgot to mention that!**

Chapter Three: The Truth

Liza was very grateful that her helmet's glass was tinted; otherwise it would have been almost impossible to enjoy the desert-like scenery outside the town. The large cliffs were always breathtaking. It was a shame that she couldn't feel the wind blowing against her face with the full-head helmet, but it didn't bother her that much. Behind her, Liza's long ponytail flew like a scarlet ribbon.

As the trio approached a stop sign, Liza turned around. She wasn't quite sure why, but something inside her compelled her to look behind her. What she saw surprised her a bit, even scared her. Almost right on the motorcycle's tail were two sinister looking cars; each was a sickly lavender color and had a strange symbol on their front bumpers.

Without warning, the motorcycle shot forward past the stop sign, nearly causing Liza to lose her hold around Jack's waist. Terrified and shaken, the girl clung to her "brother" and was about to demand what he was thinking. But to her surprise, he was looking back at their pursuers. When he turned back around, Liza swore he was shouting something, but couldn't hear him over the roar of the three engines, or the strong wind. It also looked like he was . . . talking _to_ the bike.

"Jack," Liza shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping he would hear her, "what's going on? Why are those guys chasing us?"

"Just hold on," he yelled back, "I'll try to lose 'em!"

But no sooner had the words left his mouth did the sports cars do something that stunned the redhead: they transformed. It was the strangest sight – one minute they were (somewhat) average-looking vehicles, the next they became giant robots.

"What the . . ."

Before Liza could finish her sentence, the blue motorcycle jerked to the left and hid behind a large rock. As the kids clambered off, a female voice rang from out of nowhere.

"Jack," it said, "you and Liza stay here and hide. I'll take care of this!" With that, the motorcycle sped off all on its own.

"What . . . just happened," Liza choked out as she removed her helmet. "How does your bike know my name?"

"It's a long story," Jack explained apologetically as he peered past the rock, "we'll explain things later."

Crouching to the ground, Liza shed her jacket and followed the dark-haired boy's gaze to find that the motorcycle had vanished. In its place was a large (though small compared to the sports car robots) blue robot with pink highlights. As she recovered from the initial shock of everything, Liza began to feel impressed at the blue robot's fighting abilities. Even though she was outnumbered, she didn't appear to be getting tired at all. Dodging all of her opponents' lasers, kicks, and punches, and responding with her own, Liza couldn't help but silently cheer her on. The girl's heart plunged to her stomach when the azure warrior received a swift kick in the chest, sending her flying backwards.

"Arcee," Jack quietly gasped, praying his guardian would get up soon. Fortunately, she rose to her feet just in time to jump out of the path of some lasers.

_Arcee,_ Liza wondered. Was that the robot's name?

But before Arcee could land another attack, one of her assailants threw himself on top of her and pinned her to the ground. Both aimed their weapons, preparing to fire.

_No,_ Liza panicked. _No, it can't end like this! Get up!_

The guns were fully loaded.

"STOP!"

For a moment, the weapons powered down as their wielders turned to see whom was responsible for the shout. Standing just a short distance away was the female human they had seen riding with the Autobot and her human. The defiance and rage in her face quickly melted into hesitation and fear when they pointed the giant blasters at her.

Big mistake.

Before either adversary could fire at the human femme, a powerful kick from the sapphire Autobot sent them sprawling on the ground a few feet away. Rising to her feet, she aimed both of her own blasters right at their faces. Silently exchanging glances, the pair of attackers transformed and wisely rocketed away from the scene.

Liza gawked through the cloud of dust trailing behind the evil sports cars, not at all noticing Jack walking to her side.

"You two okay?"

Liza jumped upon discovering that the blue warrior was kneeling down right in front of her. It was difficult to read her expression; it was obviously kind, but also seemed a bit irritated, scared even. The ginger-haired girl wasn't even aware that she was staring until Jack's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"We're fine, Arcee."

Shaking her head, embarrassed, Liza turned to her friend, and back to Arcee. "Jack . . . what's going on here? Who is she, and who were those guys that attacked us?"

Liza sounded like she was fighting the panic in her voice. Neither Jack nor Arcee could blame her. Even though she clearly knew Arcee was an ally, that didn't stop her from being a bit surprised at the true nature of her friend's motorcycle.

"It's all right, I'm on your side."

"What . . ." Liza was about to ask, but decided that it sounded too rude. So she settled on, "who are you?"

"Name's Arcee." Before the girl could bombard her with any more questions, Arcee turned her sky-blue gaze to Jack.

Liza urged Jack to continue, yearning to know what the background story was about Arcee being not only a motorcycle, but a robot. An actual, robot that functioned on its own.

Jack sighed and looked at Arcee. Arcee knew Jack didn't have to say anything, she knew what he was thinking. Arcee nodded her head once in agreement.

"Jack?" Liza urged Jack impatiently.

Arcee transformed back into a motorcycle and waited for Jack and Liza to finish their conversation.

"Liza, this isn't the greatest spot to talk right now. Those guys could come back any minute," Jack began as he placed both hands on Liza's shoulders.

"That's right." Arcee agreed.

Liza blinked out of confusion and a little bit of fear.

"Get on you two, were going to the base." Arcee stated seriously.

"Base...? What base? Jack what is she talking about?" Liza questioned.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions to ask, Liza but now's not the time. Come on, before they show up again." Jack replied back as he pushed Liza toward Arcee. "I promise we'll answer all your questions when we get there."

Liza sighed quietly to herself, knowing she had no choice but to trust them and wait. "Okay." She held tightly onto Jack's waist as the blue motorcycle peeled away.

~.~.~.~.~

". . . out in the open! An easy target!" The Decepticon Commander threw his hands into the air, enraged at his subordinates' incompetence.

"We almost had her, Commander Starscream," one of the purple cars groaned. "She and that boy would be history if the girl hadn't distracted us!"

"Girl?" Starscream raised an optic ridge. "You mean that pathetic Miko, don't you?"

"No, this one had red hair and didn't seem to know of our existence."

"Hmm, it seems the Autobots have gained yet another ally. Learn as much as you can about her on your next mission! Our master's plans may depend on it."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Apologies for the wait! I've had a cold the last few days, and while I've been feeling well enough to write, I just couldn't seem to get the creative juices flowing (especially since I'm really bad at writing about battles.) Hopefully this chapter was okay anyway!**

**Special thanks: Black Queen of Darkness for helping me write some of this. :)**

**Please review before you go!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A little math lesson: spring break+no more cold=new chapter! :D**

**Apologies for the wait! Hopefully not too many of you lost interest! Thank you all for your reviews! Please keep them coming! :)**

Chapter Four: The Autobots

As the azure Autobot sped towards the supposed location of the base, the trio found themselves trapped in a somewhat awkward silence. Both Jack and Arcee felt bad for keeping such a big secret from Liza and hoped she would forgive them once she learned the whole story. On the other hand, Elizabeth was hoping they didn't feel too guilty. She was sure they had wanted to tell her and had a good reason not to. But at the same time, there was a small part of her that was pretty annoyed with Jack for covering the truth.

Through the tinted glass of her helmet's visor (her sweatshirt had been forgotten in Jack's haste), Liza noticed what Arcee was rushing towards – a giant cliff wall.

"What the . . ." Instinctively, the girl clung to Jack a bit tighter and braced herself for the impact, ducking down behind his back and letting out a small cry. Jack chuckled at his friend's reaction, but could hardly blame her. After all, he'd nearly had a heart attack himself the first time Arcee had taken him and Miko to the base.

Liza felt every muscle in her body stiffen as she prepared to be squished like a bug on a windshield. But instead, she heard the quiet whirring of a giant door opening. After a few moments, the girl summoned the courage to open her jade eyes, stunned at what she saw. It was a giant metal path, softly lit by several fluorescent lights. The next sight paralyzed the girl with shock.

Four giant robots, all much larger than Arcee, turned to the new arrivals. One was operating the biggest computer Elizabeth had ever seen; his ivory armor was complemented by a bright orange. Off to one side, Liza was surprised to notice Miko chatting excitedly with another robot, but the conversation was abruptly ended when the pair noticed Arcee enter with her two passengers. This robot was probably the largest of the group; he was a dark green color, and despite his size, he struck Liza as a rather gentle type. Not far from that pair, a bright goldenrod robot was carrying Rafael on his shoulder. He was quite small in comparison to most of the bunch. He had twin black stripes across his chest and two wings on his back, made of car doors. Raf gave Liza a small smile while his giant companion gave a small wave, which Liza couldn't help but return with a shy smile.

As Arcee slowed to a stop, allowing Jack and Liza to step off and remove their helmets, a fifth robot slowly approached the center of the room. His armor was a mix of dark crimson and sapphire, a strange symbol embedded in his shoulder. For some reason, Liza knew he was the leader. He had a strange aura about him; she just felt . . . safe in his presence.

"Just what we need," the orange-and-white robot griped, "another human to keep a constant optic on." He returned to his work without sparing the new girl another glance.

"Nice to meet you, too," Liza sarcastically spat. Despite her confused shock and waning fear, she wasn't going to let anyone talk down to her like she wasn't there.

"Liza, you're here!" Miko's unmistakable, energetic voice echoed in the caved room before the exchange student nearly crashed into her friend. Liza spared Miko a small laugh, but it was hard to miss her baffled discomfort. "How'd you find out? Was it 'Cons?"

Before the ginger-haired girl could answer in confusion, a deep voice with something of a fatherly tone spoke to the girl.

Liza looked up to find the red and blue robot kneeling down in front of her. Knowing that his massive size was likely intimidating to her, he made sure not to lean too close.

"There is no need to fear us," he reassured her. "We are here to protect this planet and its inhabitants."

"Who are you," Liza asked before she could stop herself. She felt kind of bad for interrupting, but she wanted to know exactly who was protecting the planet and its inhabitants. "And what exactly are you protecting us from?"

"Both fair questions, Elizabeth," the authoritative mech answered patiently. A tiny, but noticeable smile on his face helped ease Liza's tension just a little more. "We are known by Jack, Miko, and Rafael as Autobots, autonomous robotic organisms. We hail from the planet Cybertron."

"Cybertron," Liza echoed quietly to help her remember. The name rolled off her tongue quite nicely. "Did something happen to your planet?"

A solemn expression.

"Cybertron was once a peaceful empire. But over time, civil war erupted over control of the planet's source of energon – the lifeblood of all Cybertronians."

"'All Cybertronians?' Are the Autobots just one race, then?"

"The Autobots are a faction in the war," Arcee explained. "We're basically a huge team. There are two other factions: the Neutrals, and the Decepticons."

It wasn't a big mystery which side was the problem now.

"So those purple cars that just attacked us . . . were they Decepticons?"

As Arcee nodded, Jack chipped in, "Yeah. There's hundreds of them and they all work for Megatron."

"Megatron?"

"Megatron," the leader resumed, "is the leader of the Decepticons. Long ago, I fought alongside him as a close friend, a brother even. But his ideals became corrupted in the conflict."

Liza couldn't miss the discreet sorrow in his voice.

"Megatron and the Decepticons escaped Cybertron when it became uninhabitable. Now they scour this planet in search of energon."

Elizabeth remained silent as she processed all the information. The earth had been in danger all this time? And she'd never known? Thousands of questions rushed through the girls mind; she finally settled on,

"Who are you, exactly? I'd kind of like to know the names of our planet's protectors." Liza prayed she didn't sound as rude as she'd feared. This fear was put to rest when the brick-colored robot regained his small, reassuring smile.

"Of course. My name is Optimus Prime. I am the leader of this small band of Autobots. You are already acquainted with Jack's and your guardian, Arcee."

"Wait, guardian?"

"We'll explain that later," Jack replied. Liza was about to protest, but thought better of it. She then turned to the huge green one she had seen conversing with Miko.

"Name's Bulkhead," he smiled, earning one from Liza in return. "The kids and Arcee have told us a lot about you."

"Wish I could say the same," Liza replied, shooting a look in Jack's direction, but her playful smirk reassured him that she was not upset. He only shrugged with a sheepish grin.

Turning to the next bot in line, Liza saw the white one still operating the computer. Given his previous reaction to her arrival, he surprised her with a somewhat softer expression and a small nod.

"That's Ratchet, the medic." The redhead jumped hearing Rafael's voice as she had not noticed him approach. "Don't take his first remark too personally, he's always kind of grumpy." Elizabeth felt better hearing this. Before she could say anything else, the yellow one knelt down, almost to her eye level.

"Oh, hi there," Liza greeted, a bit startled. Several high-pitched beeps could be heard from him.

"This is Bumblebee," Raf translated. "He's really glad to meet you."

"Okay then. It's nice to meet you, too, Bumblebee."

To her confusion, a sad look appeared on Bumblebee's face. Before she could ask, his large black digit pointed traced something on the girl's arm as he whined in concern.

"Oh, yeah. That's one of the places where . . ." Her voice choked before she could finish. Elizabeth fought to keep the tears at bay as the memory played again in her mind. She was jolted out of the flashback when something lifted her off the ground.

"Wait, what . . ."

To her surprise, Liza felt herself being gently pressed against his goldenrod chest, his two hands wrapped around her back. It was then that she realized he was _hugging_ her.

"Bee was really worried about you," Arcee explained, "especially after the incident with your dad. He wanted to bring you here as soon as possible." She refrained from mentioning Optimus's objection, not wanting to make him appear as though he hadn't cared about her safety; on the contrary, he'd alerted Special Agent Fowler to the girl's situation, asking him many times to look into it. Arcee had managed to sneak a few photos of the girl's condition before she was let into the Darby home sometimes, sending them straight to the base to be used as evidence.

Alas, all Agent Fowler had been able to do was contact the Child Protection Agency. Three times. Optimus had even announced that he was prepared to make an exception if he must, that if Elizabeth's father continued to treat her that way for much longer, he would have Jack and Arcee bring her to the base for protection.

But it proved to be too little, too late.

"Oh," Liza didn't know what else to say. He hadn't even known her then, why was he so worried for her?

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything more, an alarm sounded, accompanied by a flashing neon green light.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Sorry if anyone was OOC or over-the-top. I know I ended kind of suddenly, too, but writer's block was starting to rear its unwanted head.**

**Please review on your way out! **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: The Decepticons

Liza managed to keep from panicking, but couldn't help feeling a little scared. Alarms usually meant something bad was coming, right?

"It's Agent Fowler," Ratchet reported calmly, relieving Liza greatly, even making her feel silly. As Bumblebee gently set his new friend down, an elevator descended from the roof. An African-American man wearing a suit exited, a stern look on his face.

"Agent Fowler," Optimus politely addressed.

"Prime," Fowler replied, "we've spotted a bunch of 'Cons digging their way into one of the Appalachian Mountains. Looks like they're trying to make some sort of tunnel."

"Another energon mine," Bulkhead wondered out loud.

"Probably. If they tunnel deep enough, the mountain they're digging into would become unstable, and it could very easily come tumbling down like a house of cards. And if there are people climbing the mountain, or camping nearby . . ." Fowler didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to.

"We will look into it, Special Agent Fowler," Optimus said, with a small nod of acknowledgment.

"Good." Fowler gave a nod of his own before turning to leave. But before he had taken two steps, the man stopped in his tracks, turning back around. "I also thought you might be interested to know that Raymond Dowell has been charged with assault and attempted murder, among other things. He won't be seeing the outside of a prison cell anytime soon."

"Yes!" Miko cheered while pumping her fists. Bulkhead gave a laugh of satisfaction as Arcee placed one hand on her hip, smirking a bit. Rafael let out a huge sigh of relief, and Bumblebee pumped his fists several times in the air, beeping happily. Optimus just stood with a relieved smile on his face, and even Ratchet allowed himself a satisfied grin.

Truth be told, Ratchet had tried to persuade Optimus to bring the girl to the base from the beginning. The medic bot simply could not fathom how someone could batter his own youngling. Once Arcee started bringing photos in, Ratchet's rage only increased, and he pressed his leader even harder. But through it all, he remained quite grateful that the younger bots hadn't called him on his concern, not wanting his strong, hardened image to be tarnished.

Liza could only stare into space with a big smile of shocked, relieved ecstasy. Her father was gone, taken away from society forever. She would never have to fear his wrath again. A gentle squeeze on her shoulder brought her back to reality. She traced the hand and arm to face their owner, and was greeted with a triumphant smile from Jack. Liza shared an elated laugh with him before turning to face Fowler. The man was giving her an encouraging smile, like he was just a pleased as the rest of them. Fowler then turned again, vanishing into the elevator.

"Ratchet, prepare the Ground Bridge," Optimus ordered, "we must stop the Decepticons before they manage to destroy the mountain."

The medic nodded, and began to look up the coordinates.

"So, what do we do now," Liza whispered to her friends, confused. Miko's only reply, before anyone else could chip in, was to grab the ginger's wrist.

"Just wait."

"Wait, what . . ."

Liza cut herself off as she was nearly blinded by a long road, surrounded by what appeared to be rings made of light. A strange noise entered her ears, and Liza managed to crack her eyes open; four vehicles – the familiar blue motorcycle, a yellow-and-black muscle car, a large, moss-green SUV, and a ruby semi with ocean-colored accents – were driving into the blinding white light.

"Now!"

As Liza felt herself being jerked forward, the last thing she heard was Jack's voice shouting at Miko.

~.~.~.~.~

"Liza, come on! Open your eyes!"

Responding to Miko's excited voice, Liza cautiously opened her eyes.

_What?_

This was definitely not the base. It looked like a large forest, with a giant mountain in the heart of it.

"Where are we?"

"We followed the Autobots to the mountains where the Decepticons are," Jack's voice rang from behind Liza. He sounded somewhat annoyed at this fact, while Rafael seemed pretty indifferent.

"You mean . . ."

The redhead was cut short as the roar of jet engines approached. Then two, then three.

"Get down!" Before Liza could process the command, Jack shoved her down into the bushes as Miko and Raf followed suit. The four teens peered through the vegetation, and three of them watched somewhat nervously as the three aircrafts flew overhead towards the mountain. Two of them were pretty average-looking, one was pitch-black with some purple highlights here and there, another was silver, accented with blood-red. The third one, Liza stared at with fascination. It was much larger than the two other planes. It's bright silver body gleamed brightly in the sunlight, and soft purple highlights could be seen on some parts of its body. This jet also looked much different from the other two, it was unlike anything Liza had ever seen, it was a bit unnerving.

"'Cons," Miko whispered. "Let's see what they're doing!" Before anyone could try to stop her, the exchange student bolted after the three jets. The forest soon disappeared, and was replaced by the mountainside, swarming with Decepticons.

"Whoa," Liza quietly gasped, instinctively stepping back. Fortunately, the Decepticons were far too busy to notice the uninvited guests. Some were operating giant drills, carrying tools and containers filled with energon, and some just stood around giving orders.

"So, what's the plan?" Liza figured that since they were there, they may as well give the Autobots a hand. She assumed that had been Miko's intent, anyway.

"Let's find out what their plans are," Jack suggested. "They must have some plan for all this energon they're mining."

As if on cue, footsteps thundered behind the teens. Diving for cover again, they watched as the Decepticon commander addressed someone.

"Soundwave," he barked. A black robot with purple accents and a blank-looking face turned to the speaker.

"That's Starscream," Jack whispered to Liza, "he's second in command of the Decepticons."

"And how are the operations proceeding," Starscream inquired, an air of authority in his voice. Liza observed in surprise as several images appeared on Soundwave's face, each recordings of Decepticons working in various caverns of the mine. "Excellent. And the Autobots?"

A brief clip of Optimus leading his Autobots into a battle.

"Perfect. Now if we can just extract enough energon from this mine to complete certain...preparations, our master's plan can begin to unfold! Once we obtain the trump card, we will finally bring Optimus to his knees!" Starscream threw an arm in the air, as his enthusiasim peaked. Before he could continue, however, Soundwave's long arm extended past the commander's body. Following the mechanical appendage, Starscream's optics landed on four humans in the bushes.

"Humans," he shrieked. "Seize them!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Apologies for how rushed it is. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So sorry for the wait! School's been really hectic lately. Also I've had the WORST case of writer's block! T_T I hope I didn't lose too many readers...**

**I also have a question for you guys. Check out the poll on my profile!**

Chapter Six: Enemies

"Seize them!"

Those two words didn't really sink into Liza's brain until she felt herself being yanked back by her wrist. Finally regaining enough presence of mind to run for it, she scanned the forest for a possible hiding spot. But thundering footsteps behind the four teens threatened to replace her thoughts with pure adrenaline.

"Transform, you fools," Starscream barked, and the telltale sound of a Cybertronian morphing entered the humans' ears. Several more followed, and the footsteps were replaced with several roaring engines.

"In here," Jack shouted, pointing to a small cave. Without hesitating, everyone hurried in, crouching down behind the wall, relieved beyond words to watch the many Vehicons zoom right past while Starscream flew overhead.

_That's odd,_ Jack wondered, _how did Starscream manage to lose us?_ Shouldn't the Seeker have seen them run into the cave from the sky? The raven-haired teen watched as Soundwave followed right behind.

"Okay," Liza panted, partly from coming off the adrenaline high, "so this is just an average day for you guys? Sneak out with the Autobots, nearly get killed by Decepticons, go home?"

"Yeah," Miko nodded excitedly, "isn't it awesome?"

"It isn't much fun just sitting back at the base, doing nothing," Raf admitted with a shrug.

"It's great to be able to help sometimes," Jack added, "but risking my life isn't quite at the top of my list of favorite things to do. Though it is necessary sometimes . . ."

The faint sound of a jet engine loomed overhead.

"I guess it is kind of fun," Liza confessed with a small smile, "but hiding in here won't help the Autobots. I think the guys who were chasing us are gone, let's go."

Making sure the coast was clear, the four humans bolted out of hiding, hoping to find something good before they were caught by either the Autobots or the Decepticons.

~.~.~.~.~

Arcee had silently cursed when Ratchet had reported from the base that the kids were missing. Miko had probably tried to run off again, forcing the other three to run after her. Still, she had to admit, it did prove to be beneficial at times, like when Miko had taken a picture of the schematics on the Nemesis. And since Jack had restored Optimus's memory with the Matrix of Leadership, she knew her partner was capable of taking care of himself, and probably the others.

But the fact remained that every minute they were out there, the humans were vulnerable to capture or death at the hands of the Decepticons; and Arcee wouldn't have been at all surprised if Megatron wanted revenge for Jack returning Optimus to his senses.

_No, don't think about that,_ she ordered herself, _they'll be fine._

Just as the sapphire femme vowed to focus on the current situation, a loud engine roared from behind her. Before Arcee could do more than turn around, she found herself pinned tightly to the earth below.

Her assailant was much larger than her. His armor was mostly black, with silver and dark purple highlights. His ebony helm seemed to brighten his royal purple optics.

"Hello, Arcee," the mech growled dangerously, razor-sharp claws digging into the cycle bot's armor.

"Barricade," Arcee spat in an equally venomous voice, "what are you doing here?"

"I've been on this . . . primitive planet for quite a while, my dear," the Decepticon replied, his scowl turning to a smug grin. "In fact, I'm a bit insulted that you didn't notice me earlier."

A silent gasp of realization. Arcee had known there was something off about one of Jasper's police cars . . .

"Enough chitchat," Barricade lifted Arcee's chin with one of his talons, earning a deadly glare, "shall we . . . settle old scores now?"

~.~.~.~.~

"So, what exactly are we hoping to accomplish here," Liza asked when the humans stopped running to catch their breath. "I haven't seen any Decepticons around for a while." It was true, all they'd seen for the past ten minutes or so was tree after tree.

"You're sure you spotted the Autobots' pets near the mine, Starscream?"

Three of the teens froze on the spot; one just looked for the voice's owner. Finally, Jack dared to turn around. Walking in the humans' direction was Starscream, and the largest robot Liza had ever seen, aside from maybe Optimus or Bulkhead. Grabbing Liza's wrist, Jack pulled her behind a giant rock as Miko and Raf hurriedly joined them.

"Positive, my liege," Starscream nodded. "I ordered several Vehicons to search for and capture them on sight."

"Hmph. This provides a most excellent opportunity," the larger robot stated. "Optimus would not dare refuse my demands . . ."

Liza's emerald eyes widened in fear as she realized whose presence she was in.

"Let's get out of here," Raf suggested. "We're better off near the Autobots than out in the open. Let's find them."

Without a word, the four organics waited for the two Decepticons to walk safely out of earshot before hurrying back through the woods.

"Let's look for the spot the ground bridge took us," Jack suggested, "that's probably close to where the Autobots are!"

Nearby, a large red mech's attention was drawn from his previous engagement. He smirked as he spotted the Autobots' three vermin scurrying through the forest, an extra one along for the ride as well. He quickly loaded the cannon on his arm, aiming just ahead of the humans . . .

"Aah!"

A cloud of dust blinded the four teens as the ground before them exploded loudly.

"Well, well, what do we have here? The Autobots' pets?"

The Decepticon medic strode forward casually, ignoring the four deadly glares.

"Get lost, Knock Out," Miko growled, knowing full well he wouldn't listen. As expected, he only smirked at the exchange student.

"Or else what," he asked with mock curiosity, "you'll scrape me to death with those pathetic excuses for claws?" He dropped the cockiness for a moment, examining the unfamiliar redhead. "I guess they're just adopting humans off the street, now?"

Liza's glare deepened at this, feeling insulted.

"Now," the crimson narcissist stroked his chin as he debated his next move, "do I annihilate you right here like the insects you are, or . . ."

Every muscle in Liza's body tensed as she prepared to run like hell. But she remained still, in case one of the others had a plan. After all, given Jack's reaction to Miko running through the ground bridge earlier, this was probably a regular occurrence.

"Liza, watch out!"

Jack's cry yanked the teen from her thoughts as she saw a giant metal hand reaching for her. Diving out of the way in the nick of time, Liza covered her head with her hands and froze for a moment at the sound of gunfire.

"You," Knock Out growled, only to be tackled and stunned by the newly arrived Autobot.

"_**Get out of here, now!"**_ Bumblebee's whirs and beeps had every bit as much urgency as if he'd shouted them normally. Miko and Raf took off without question, but Liza stood up defiantly.

"No," she announced, "I'm going to help you!"

Before Bumblebee could protest, he found himself being catapulted away as Knock Out regained his senses. The yellow Autobot squawked again, motioning with his hand. Liza turned her head when she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"I'm going with Miko and Raf to make sure they find the other Autobots," Jack whispered to Liza as Knock Out stood up and carefully dusted his gleaming red chassis. "Be careful, and good luck!" The ginger nodded and the raven-haired boy took off after his friends.

"Sticking around, are you," the scarlet mech scoffed as Bumblebee looked down in surprise. "Gotta say, little girl, I like your guts." A wicked, scheming grin. "But you won't have them for much longer." Two small compartments opened in Knock Out's servos, dropping two good-sized blades into his grasp.

At the sight, the goldenrod Autobot scout threw himself at the Decepticon medic once again, only to be thrown back by the swing of Knock Out's arm.

Briefly glancing back at her temporary partner, Liza whipped around to see Knock Out slowly approaching. He chuckled when the girl ran, but was cut short by another blast from Bumblebee's arm cannon.

Liza skidded to a halt as she narrowly avoided crashing into a tree. She kicked herself for looking back at every sound of gunfire. Taking another look at the battle going on behind her, her jade eyes traveled up the tree . . .

"You don't quit, do you, little scout," Knock Out taunted as he and Bumblebee dodged one another's attacks. "Though it is painfully obvious why Optimus hasn't named you a warrior yet. Those punches are just pathetic . . ."

Enraged and offended, the scout reeled his arm back, and slugged his opponent, sending him stumbling backwards.

"You little . . ." Knock Out charged furiously at Bumblebee, no longer playing around. He lunged, preparing to stab the yellow mech through the chest plates.

"Augh!" Out of nowhere, a large tree branch collapsed onto the crimson Decepticon. Startled, Bumblebee rushed over to investigate and began to panic when he saw the red-haired Liza lying on top of the branches. His fear soon dissolved away when she stood up.

"You okay," she asked with a satisfied grin. Bumblebee nodded and beeped, followed by a concerned whine.

"I'm fine," Liza nodded as she stepped onto Bumblebee's offered servo. "Looks like he won't be getting up for a while, though."

Whirring in agreement, Bumblebee transformed.

"Let's find the others," Liza suggested, "they could probably use some help."

No sooner had the words left her mouth did Bulkhead's voice sound through the scout's comm. link.

"Bee, get over here! Megatron just got to the battle site, and we need back-up!"

~.~.~.~.~

Arcee dodged another swing from Barricade's fist and delivered a swift kick to his chest plates, sending him sprawling. She glared at the Decepticon leader, her attention finally freed.

"Megatron," Optimus addressed his nemesis calmly.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Optimus," Megatron replied. "Why, only a few solar cycles ago, you were once again my faithful clerk, _Orion Pax_."

Optimus ignored him, not wanting to dignify Megatron's terrible reminder. "This mountain is not yours to destroy, Megatron. Stand down." The Autobot leader silently threatened his adversary by loading his gun.

Megatron only laughed, aiming his fusion cannon. "I'm afraid not, my dear old friend. This energon mine is far too valuable, we must extract all we can."

As the fusion cannon glowed, Arcee whipped out her own weapon, preparing to fire. A sudden weight was thrust upon her from the side, throwing her aim astray. The sapphire femme grunted in anger as she tried to push Barricade off once again. But one sound froze her dead.

"Augh!"

All eyes and optics shot to the source of the scream: Liza was almost down on her knees, clutching her arm tightly. The girl's face had been contorted into an agonized expression, and an ominous red liquid ran down past her hand.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Again, I'm so sorry for the wait! Please review so I know you still care!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks, guys. I'm glad I didn't lose too many readers. :) Now let's see how long it takes me to finish this chapter. ^_^**

**Again, check out the poll on my profile, and don't forget to vote!**

Chapter Seven: Concern

Piercing red optics examined the injured girl as she took in sharp breaths, attempting to suppress the vicious burning sensation on her arm. Megatron let out a quiet chuckle as he watched the girl suffer, the wound still gushing dark red blood; he was even more amused when he heard Arcee's voice break the sudden silence . . .

"No," The azure cycle bot struggled to throw off her adversary again, but Barricade's grip was unrelenting this time. Try as she might, Arcee could not cover the rising panic in her voice. Her horror spiked even further when she heard deep footsteps, and looked up to see the Decepticon leader slowly approaching her newest charge.

"I'm fine," the ginger called back in a slightly strained voice. To everyone's surprise, Elizabeth managed to climb to her feet, removing her now crimson hand from the wound. The girl almost gasped in terror when she looked up to find the giant robot from earlier (Megatron, she had heard Optimus call him) coming towards her, but she maintained a defiant face.

As he slowly stalked towards the wounded human, Megatron paused for half an instant in surprise as she rose to her feet. He was stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of a gun preparing to fire. He looked up just in time to see Bumblebee sliding down the hill, aiming directly at his chest.

"You can lower your weapon, _scout_," he sneered as Bumblebee slowed to a stop about halfway down the hill, "I do not intend to harm the girl. Merely to . . . become acquainted." His gaze was met with a defiant, but clearly scared, green-eyed glare. The girl tried to step back, but the hill was too steep; she only slid a little closer to the Decepticon leader.

"Tell me, girl," Megatron began with an innocent tone, "what is your name?"

"Nothing you need to know," Liza spat back angrily, earning a surprised look. She couldn't help but see that everyone else was taken aback by this answer as well, and she swore she saw a look of pride in Arcee's optics. A shiver ran down the teen's spine when she saw Megatron's shock replaced with a dark glower.

"It was a simple request, girl," Megatron growled, unsheathing the blade in his arm, "perhaps I should spare the Autobots the trouble of teaching you some manners."

"Don't you dare touch her," Arcee roared, finally pushing Barricade off of her. To her surprise, Megatron did not bring the weapon down, and instead turned to face the azure Autobot.

"Oh? Do I take that tone to mean she is _your_ pet, Arcee? But don't you already have Jack?" He turned to the bushes that were supposed to be concealing the other three humans. Arcee only glared upon hearing the term "pet". "Not off to a good start, I must say...shooting your own human..."

Megatron turned at the sound of falling pebbles, but was stunned with a shot to his back before he had even registered that Liza was attempting to run. Whirling back around, he returned fire at the sapphire cycle bot, igniting blasts from all Autobots and Decepticons in the area.

Behind him, Bumblebee hastily scooped the redhead into his servos and hurried over to the bushes.

"Ratchet," Optimus called into his comm. link, firing when necessary, "send a ground bridge immediately! Elizabeth is injured!"

The scout wasted no time in herding the rest of the humans into the blinding portal, but took no notice of Jack lingering for an instant, locked in an angry stare-down with Megatron.

"_**Jack!"**_

Taking the scout's crow to be calling his name, Jack hurried through the ground bridge, vanishing from sight. But the warlord's optics remained glued to the spot where the boy had been standing only seconds before. Megatron nearly paid for the distraction by losing a layer of armor from his face, courtesy of Arcee, but he quickly pulled back together, charging into the melee.

~.~.~.~.~

"Bumblebee, what are you _doing?_ We have to go back and help them!"

Liza squirmed as she tried to free herself from the yellow scout's grip, to no avail. His only response was a series of whirs and beeps that Liza couldn't understand, but assumed to be a form of scolding.

"I am _fine_, Bee," the girl sighed, completely oblivious to Ratchet's hasty approach, "it's just a small burn!"

"'Just a small burn'?" Liza jumped at the sound of the new arrival's voice. "Elizabeth, this is a third degree burn, about as serious as burns can get!"

"And your point is...?"

Elizabeth stared at the doctor, waiting for an answer. Ratchet only stared back, hardly believing what he was hearing. Bumblebee's blue optics were wide with surprise. Down below, Miko and Raf exchanged glances, both impressed and concerned for their friend's condition. Jack just stood watching the debate; he knew Liza had survived much worse than this little burn long before her father had attacked her with the knife.

"Just come with me," Ratchet grumbled, gently snatching her from Bumblebee's servo. "How did this happen, anyway?"

"Arcee was about to shoot Megatron, but a Decepticon jumped on her and threw her off balance," Liza shrugged, as Ratchet proceeded to clean the wound. He was surprised when she only winced a few times, very small ones at that.

As the other three humans made their way up to the sitting area, Jack turned around, feeling a tap on his shoulder.

"What's up, Bee?"

"_**At the risk of asking a stupid question, has Liza been hurt like this before,"**_ Bumblebee warbled as Jack listened and waited patiently for Raf to translate, _**"she's really calm about this, and I'm surprised she's not crying even a little, it looks really painful."**_

Jack's cobalt eyes shot to his red-haired friend as Raf interpreted Bumblebee's question.

"Believe me, Bumblebee. This is NOTHING compared to what her dad used to do to her," Jack whispered grimly, clenching his fists as he relived one particular memory. "One time my mom had to drive her to the emergency room because her dad threw boiling water on her. Almost her entire upper body was scalded." Jack emphasized his point by circling his hand around his torso. "So, this is probably nothing more than a bee sting to her."

A short distance away, Liza winced again as Ratchet pressed the cloth down harder, enraged by Jack's story.

It wasn't long before Optimus requested a ground bridge. Just as Ratchet was securing a bandage on Liza's arm, the remaining three Autobots exited the white portal. Liza stood up, smiling as she began to greet her friends.

"Hey guys! How did-"

"Liza, how's your arm?" Arcee wasted no time in checking on her new partner, who laughed at her own stupidity.

"It's fine, Arcee. Just a little burned is all. What about you guys?"

"Yeah, did you send Megatron packing with his tail between his legs," Miko excitedly piled on, jumping up from her seat.

"Yup, no mountains are gonna be collapsing today," Bulkhead grinned, putting his charge on his shoulder.

"Something else came up as well," Optimus announced, gaining everyone's attention. "I received a signal from an old ally of mine. He has crash landed on Earth."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Yes, this chapter was short, and mostly fillers, but fear not! The next chapter will be longer and better! :)**

**Review please! It makes my day!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm SO sorry, everyone! Between college visits, and catching a summer cold during said visits, and good old-fashioned writer's block, my stories kinda got pushed to the side. T_T But I'm back now!**

**You asked for him, you got him! See which Autobot ally has landed on earth in this chapter!**

Chapter Eight: The New Ally

"Ugh," the silver mech groaned as his blue optics flickered back online. "Man, that was one rough landing." Rubbing the back of his neck, he stood up to survey the damage.

It wasn't pretty. All over, wires had been broken and were sparking frantically. The control panel had also been decimated upon landing; the mech began to wonder how he'd come out of the crash unscathed.

Well, almost unscathed. Looking down at his arm, the silver mech saw a small stream of energon flowing towards the ground, right under the crimson Autobot insignia decorating his chestplate. Fortunately, he had managed to contact Optimus Prime before the actual crash landing, and knew that help was probably already on the way.

"Now," he murmured to himself, "to check out the scene."

~.~.~.~.~

"So, Lizzie..." Liza rolled her eyes at the sound of the voice she knew and hated. "I was thinking. You. Me. The Halloween dance." Vince snaked his arm around the girl's shoulders, gently squeezing her bandage. Wincing in pain, Liza hastily peeled his dirty hands from her skin, giving the boy a mockingly sweet smile.

"So, Vince...I was thinking," a dark glare, "_no_." Turning on her heels, Liza practically stomped out of the building towards the blue motorcycle, knowing full well that Vince would just follow her.

"Come on," the bully pressed, grabbing Liza's shoulder and turning her back around. "Maybe after we could...go have some more fun." Slowly pulling the girl closer, Vince received a punch in the shoulder when he began to purse his lips.

"Take the hint," Liza growled, really getting angry now. Shouldn't Jack have come by now? "I said _no!_ As in, 'not interested'!"

"Aw, Lizzie," Vince began to argue again, but something – or rather, someone – behind Liza stopped him dead.

"Is there a problem here?"

Startled, Liza whirled around to face the voice's owner. It was obviously a woman, based on the person's figure and voice, but she was dressed entirely in a black biker's suit and helmet. There was one hand on her hips, and she was obviously glaring at the ginger-haired boy. Liza just knew she had heard the voice before, and after a moment, she realized who had come to her rescue.

"What's it to you," Vince retorted in his snotty voice. In response, the "stranger" gently placed a hand on Liza's shoulder.

"I'm Liza's cousin, Sadie. We're pretty close," Sadie replied with a small shrug. "And I've been watching you two this whole time."

Vince couldn't help backing away a little when Sadie approached, leaning in close.

"Listen, pal, when a lady says no, _she means no._"

Now Vince was getting scared. It would have been less unnerving if Sadie had shouted.

"She doesn't mean 'yes', she doesn't mean 'try harder', she means 'no'. Got it?"

A furious nod.

"Good. And don't let me catch you harassing my cousin – or anyone else, for that matter – ever again. Are we clear, punk?"

Another wide-eyed nod.

"All right," Sadie gave a small nod of her own and walked away, keeping her hand on Liza's shoulder as they approached the cobalt bike. "You okay, Liza?"

"I'm fine," the redhead smiled as Sadie fizzled away. "Thanks for the save, Arcee, I needed it." The girl fastened her helmet and slipped her leather coat on.

"Don't mention it. It was all I could do not to threaten to run him over." Noticing her charge scanning the area, Arcee answered Liza's unasked question. "Jack's got work this afternoon, he already walked over. It's just you and me."

"Sweet! Girls' night out, I guess."

"Gotta say," Arcee commented as the pair sped out of the school parking lot, "I'm surprised June still lets me near you after I shot you last week."

"Well, she freaked out a little at first, but once Jack and I told her the whole story, she was okay."

As the two continued riding, Liza quickly noticed a drastic change in the desert scenery after Arcee pulled out of Jasper.

"Um, Arcee. Where exactly are we going, anyway?"

"Remember that Autobot that called Optimus to tell him he'd crash landed on Earth?"

"Yeah."

"That's where we're going."

~.~.~.~.~

High above the desert floor, a pair of sickly purple optics followed the cobalt motorcycle's every move, keeping a sharp watch over her passenger. The observer was curious as to why there was only one passenger, but then remembered that the foolish Autobot had injured her new partner a week earlier; knowing Optimus Prime, he had likely revoked Arcee's guardianship over the new human. A shame, too. When he'd returned to the _Nemesis_, Knock Out had droned on and on to no one in particular about how she'd ruined his precious finish.

But it didn't matter; she still had a score to settle with Jack; the new human could wait.

~.~.~.~.~

Gripping Arcee's handlebars, Liza surveyed her surroundings for the umpteenth time. She knew it had been a good hour since she and Arcee had begun their search, and still no sign of the new Autobot's ship.

"Um, Arcee...are we lost?"

"No," the cobalt femme answered, though she didn't sound completely convinced, "I'm still driving to the coordinates that Optimus sent me before school let out. Turns out he crashed quite a ways out of town."

"I see," the redhead answered. "So, do you know this new Autobot?"

"Yup, he's an old friend of mine and Bumblebee's," the sapphire warrior answered, her voice considerably brighter. "I was really glad to hear he finally made it to Earth. He actually completed his training as a cyber ninja just before Cybertron became uninhabitable."

"'Cyber ninja'? That sounds really cool!" So alien robots had ninjas, too.

"It's just a fancy term for Cybertronian martial artist," Arcee replied half-sarcastically. "His name's – AHH!"

The Autobot was cut short as her rear tire became ensnared, jolting her into a dead halt, and throwing her passenger off her seat and landing with a loud thud several feet away. Relief washed over Arcee as the girl managed to slowly lift her head, gently resting it in her palm. Liza's staggered pants and groans of pain were drowned out by the roaring of Arcee's engines as she struggled to free herself; the femme's spark skipped a beat at the unwelcome sight of thick, silky web.

Wasting no more time, Arcee transformed, preparing the sharp blades on her arms. She had to get Liza as far away from their stalker as possible. But just as she raised one arm, another blast sealed it to the ground, quickly immoblizing the other limb before it could do anything. Fear and hatred filled Arcee's spark as the stalker finally approached.

"Airachnid," she spat darkly as the spider bot stopped in front of her.

"Hello to you too, Arcee," the other femme chuckled in a friendly voice. The Decepticon smirked at Arcee's feeble attempts to break the web. Morphing into bipedal mode, Airachnid circled Arcee like a vulture. "Tell me – have you shot any humans recently?"

Arcee glared dangerously, but did not reply. She knew that a reaction was what Airachnid wanted from her, and she refused to play along.

"What do you want," Arcee demanded, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, nothing much," Airachnid answered, nonchalantely waving one of her taloned hands. "I heard you have a new human companion and thought I'd introduce myself, that's all."

The false innocence in Airachnid's face and tone sickened Arcee. The female Autobot had hoped against all hope that Liza would never have to cross paths with this sadistic monster. But now that it had come to pass, the femme refused to sit by and watch another game of cat and mouse unfold.

"Ugh..." Several feet away from the two femmes, Liza's breathing finally steadied as she regained the breath that her landing had knocked out of her. After many long moments, enough of the initial dizziness had subsided to allow the girl to sit up. Climbing to her feet, the ginger-haired teen removed her helmet and turned to face her guardian and adversary, almost stunned at the sight of the unfamiliar Decepticon.

_No way...is this that Airachnid bot that Jack told me about?_

"Oh." Airachnid was a bit surprised to find that it was not Jack under that helmet, but was quite pleased that she would finally get to have some fun with Arcee's second pet human. "This must be Elizabeth, am I right?" The purple-eyed Decepticon's eight mechanical legs pushed her main body off the ground and slowly carried her towards the girl.

"You're Airachnid, aren't you?" The girl's emerald glare could burn a hole through steel, but there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes and small quaver in her voice. Liza backed away slowly when Airachnid got to close, but the Decepticon continued her approach.

"So you've heard of me." Again, the spider femme was surprised. "That's disappointing. Then there won't be any surprises."

Arcee silently gasped and fought even harder against her bonds.

"On the other hand, this does give me the chance to get creative."

Liza's jade eyes shot to the clawed servo as Airachnid spoke, clenching it tightly. She cringed when the evil femme gently brushed a lock of her flaming red hair from her ponytail, examining it carefully.

"Such beautiful red hair," the spider 'Con remarked as the teenage human shoved her servo away, "it will add some color to my trophy case."

The girl's heart stopped cold, and Airachnid's grin widened as she slowly reached for the girl.

"Oh, yes. I even have two special spots reserved for you and Jack."

Liza jumped in fear at the sound of gunfire, followed by a cry of pain from Airachnid. The spider femme was now clutching her shoulder and glowering icily at Arcee, whom had managed to free one arm.

"Liza, run! Get out of here!"

The copper-haired girl didn't need to be told twice. In seconds, her feet kicked up a small dust storm as she took off blindly, not much caring where she went as long as it was far away from Airachnid.

Airachnid stopped her approach and spun around just in time to Liza vanish over a hill. "Hmph. Just like old times," she sighed nostalgically. "Only this time," she paused, spitting her sizzling green acid onto the ground, inches from Arcee's face, "you won't be able to interfere at the last nanoklik."

Trapping Arcee's newly freed arm with even more layers of web, Airachnid placed each one of her ten talons in her mouth, giving them all a generous coating of venom before ruthlessly slashing her captive.

~.~.~.~.~

"Dang," the silver Autobot sighed after hours of exploring the surrounding area, "sure is easy to get lost on this planet." His sky-blue visor scanned the area again; he had seen this scenery at least three times before. "S'pose I may as well head back to home base and wait for O.P."

"_Aaaahh! Aaaaaaah!"_

"Holy Primus!" The mech's spark jumped in surprise as a female's cries of agony entered his audio receptors. "Is that who I think it is...either way, I gotta find her!"

~.~.~.~.~

It had only been ten minutes, and her lungs were beginning to hurt. Finally succumbing to her body's need for a rest, Liza stretched her arms out, collapsing into a clearing.

_Okay,_ she thought to herself as she struggled to regain oxygen, _calm down. If I can just get a safe distance away, I can call the others for help!_ The teen's face brightened as a second idea entered her head. _Or maybe the new Autobot would help us! Arcee said he was an old friend._ Liza's heart leapt into her throat at the sound of footsteps hurrying towards her. Not wasting another second, she jumped to her feet and ran for it.

~.~.~.~.~

_Huh, that's funny,_ the silver mech cocked his head when he reached the clearing, his black arm cannon at the ready. _I could've sworn I heard panting and footsteps!_ He lowered his weapon, seeing no threats. Until he heard a rustle on top of a rock. Snapping into a battle position, the Autobot charged his weapon at the sight.

_Old spidey herself. What's she doing on this planet?_ Taking cover behind a boulder, the mech kept a close watch as she leapt down.

~.~.~.~.~

"You can't hide forever, Liza," Airachnid called out, knowing the girl was probably hiding somewhere.

From a small crack between two stone pillars, a pair of bright green eyes watched her every move.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," the Decepticon crooned, looking every which way for the human.

Whirling around, hoping for another place to hide, Liza was taken aback by the sight: a crashed spaceship. No doubt it contained the new Autobot ally. Checking again to make sure Airachnid wasn't looking, Liza bolted.

The girl was nearly spent when she finally reached the spacecraft; the journey had been a good few miles.

"Hello," she called out, hoping for an answer. "Hello! Is anybody there? Arcee's in trouble, she needs your help! Hello?"

No answer. Not even one sign of life anywhere in the ship. Liza almost wanted to cry at how discouraged and frustrated she'd become. Without help, both she and Arcee, and possibly the new Autobot would almost certainly meet an agonizing death at the hands of her guardian's old enemy. Slowly turning around, Liza was quickly paralyzed at the sight of two purple optics burning into her moss-colored eyes.

"You know," the spider bot's smooth voice taunted, "you really should learn to keep your voice down when the enemy's nearby. Otherwise you might," she shot several layers of webbing at the girl, sending her flying into the wall, "give away your position."

Grunting and panting, Liza fiercly struggled to reclaim her freedom from her bonds, to no avail. When it was clear that she wouldn't be able to escape, the teen glared furiously at her captor.

"What did you do to Arcee?"

"Arcee? Why nothing...much. After all, why would I kill her when there are still two partners for me to play with?" Airachnid gently ran a talon down Liza's cheek, grinning when a tiny slit gave way to large droplets of blood. The Decepticon looked down when she felt a strong tap on her leg, and almost laughed in amusement to see the girl kicking her. Looking Liza directly in the eyes once more, a grin spread across Airachnid's face.

"Please tell me that's not your best shot, Elizabeth."

No reply. Only a frightened glare.

"In that case...let me show you how to bring true pain to another!"

Liza flinched, preparing for the worst as Airachnid raised her clawed servo. But her fears were silenced at the sounds of more gunfire. Shrieking in pained surprise once more, Airachnid spun around, optics widening at the sight.

"_You!"_

"Yeah, me. Why not pick on somebody your own size, spider lady?"

A low growl escaped Airachnid's throat. The last shot to her shoulder had hit quite hard; there was a lot of energon flowing from the wound.

"This isn't over," she growled dangerously, "We will meet again, Elizabeth. And next time, you won't have the ninja or your guardian to bail you out!"

The newcomer shot at the burrowing femme many times, but never hit his mark. Sighing in defeat, he approached the trapped human.

Gawking at her savior, Liza took in every detail. A majority of his armor was a light silver – almost white – with black patches on his upper arms and shoulders, and at his knees. His large servos were also a dark charcoal, and the outer portion of his helm was the same ebony shade, with two small, but thick horns on the top. The mech's chest was outlined with twin stripes, one scarlet and the other a bright blue, both very thin. Right in the middle of his chassis, a crimson Autobot insignia gleamed in the setting sunlight.

"You okay there, little gal," the Autobot asked with concern, easily tearing the webbing off the ship's wall. Looking into his face, Liza couldn't tell if his optics were connected, or if it was some sort of visor. But his face appeared to be very kind, so she dismissed the matter.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the red-haired teen answered, dusting herself off, wincing upon touching her cheek.

"Wow, that's one serious cut," the mech observed, gently rubbing it with his digit.

"Are you the new Autobot?" Liza knew the answer to this question, but couldn't resist asking anyway. A friendly smile took over his features.

"Yes I am, darlin'. They call me Jazz."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Again, I'm so sorry for the wait! Please review on your way out!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yes, readers. This story is back from the dead! You may rejoice! Here is the long-awaited next chapter to Demons! A BIG thank you to my very patient readers and fans! **

**Please enjoy!**

Chapter Nine: Friend and Stranger

"The worst is over, she'll be all right," Ratchet announced as he returned from the med bay. Arcee had sustained serious injuries from Airachnid's venom, but fortunately, no permanent damage had been done.

A collective sigh of relief echoed throughout the large computer room, especially from Jack and Liza. Both teens had been worried sick about their guardian; Jack had freaked out when Liza told him about her encounter with Airachnid, but as soon as the new Autobot exited the ground bridge, supporting a bleeding Arcee, the boy nearly forgot about his fellow human.

"Heh, old 'Cee was never one to go down easily," Jazz smiled, lightening the mood even further. The silver ninja had already taken quite a shine to the Earth dwellers and was currently carrying both Miko and Liza on his shoulder plates. He had actually seemed a little disappointed that all four of them already had Autobot guardians. Nonetheless, Jazz happily answered Miko's unending stream of questions while the rest of the humans listened in fascination until Ratchet leaned in towards the sitting area.

"Jack, she'd like to talk to you."

The boy blinked in surprised confusion, but it quicly dissolved from his face as he descended the metal staircase. As she watched her American friend leave the room, a sad expression settled on Miko's face.

"Hey, Liza," she called, looking past Jazz's face, "how much longer are you gonna be staying with Jack?"

The ginger's face fell even further than Miko's as all conversation came to a halt.

"I-I don't know," Liza replied blankly, her emerald eyes fixated on the cement floor. "June hasn't said anything about taking me to a foster care center, but she hasn't mentioned anything about me staying with them permanently, either."

Liza blinked to keep the tears at bay. She didn't want to show it, but living with someone other than Jack and June was unthinkable; they had all but become her family after all these years, especially after her mother's death. They understood the nightmare she had lived in for sixteen years and had made it bearble to keep on living. When her father had finally been put behind bars, Liza had never felt happier; she wouldn't have to go home for nightly beatings and she could stay with the neighbors that had become a loving family to her.

Lately, though, June had been coming home late, sometimes even taking time off work to go to some appointment. She never told Liza (or Jack, to the redhead's knowledge) what the appointments were for, but it had really begun to worry the girl. Was June trying to find a place for Liza to go until another family decided they wanted her?

Miko eyed Liza in concern, wishing she hadn't brought the subject up.

"Well," Liza rose her head and forced a smile onto her face, "no use worrying over it. No news is good news, right?"

Jazz shared an unconvinced glance with Miko before a smile crept onto his faceplates.

"Aw, don't worry, darlin'," the ninja encouraged, gently rubbing Liza's head as though she were a kitten. Liza silently giggled at the gesture. "You ain't goin' nowhere, I can feel it in my circuits. Those humans ain't gonna give you up so easily."

"You think so?"

"Sure do!"

Liza smiled. Jazz had only known Jack for a few minutes so far and had yet to meet June, but it was hard to argue with how sure the mech was of himself.

"Thanks, Jazz." Her face lit up as the words left her mouth. "Do you have a vehicle mode yet?"

~.~.~.~.~

"Hey, Liza!"

Glancing past her locker door, the copper-headed girl smiled at the approaching vocalist.

"Hey, Sierra! What's up?"

"Not much," the brunette shrugged, glancing at the angry scar on Liza's arm. The almost-murder hadn't exactly made things awkward for the friends, but Liza could tell Sierra hated herself for not catching on sooner. "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out after school."

"Sure, I guess," Liza nodded, making a mental note to text Arcee at lunch. "I hear K.O. Burger makes some pretty good milkshakes, wanna go there?"

Sierra smiled and nodded as Liza finally closed her locker and the pair made their way to their respective classes.

"Hey, Jack," Liza half-whispered when she reached her U.S. History class, "I'm going out with Sierra for a bit after school, okay?"

"Uh...sure. I've got work after school, anyway, so I'll be busy, too." He hesitated for a moment. "Where are you guys going?"

"K.O. Burger."

_Great._

"Something wrong," Liza asked with amusement when a slight flush rose in Jack's cheeks.

"What? Uh, nothing! Nothing."

"Whatever you say, lover boy" Liza laughed, rolling her eyes. "I'll let Arcee know so she can pick us both up when you're done with work."

"Fine, sure," Jack grumbled, stalking off to his seat in the back. Liza snickered to herself once more before taking her own seat.

~.~.~.~.~

Jack leaned out the window of K.O. Burger's drive in. There had been no customers for about twenty minutes and he was _bored._ Even for three o'clock in the afternoon business had been slow – only one other customer besides Liza and Sierra occupied the fast food restaurant's dining area. He wasn't a man Jack had ever seen before, which was highly unusual for a small town like Jasper.

The man had jet black hair with a few touches of silver and concealed his eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. His tan skin was contrasted by his dark gray suit over a white collared shirt, complete with a crimson necktie. Jack was tempted to ask the man if he wanted something, but there was a certain vibe to him that warned Jack to stay well enough away. The man didn't seem interested in food, anyway, he was fiercely absorbed into whatever he was doing on his laptop.

When it became clear that the man wasn't going to ask for service, Jack's eyes traveled to the only other occupied table. Liza and Sierra were sitting next to the window on the other side of the resuarant, sipping their milkshakes and talking. Jack strained his ears as much as he could, but had only been able to detect small snippets of the girls' conversation.

"So...Vince seems to be pretty interested in you," Sierra noted with a barely noticable hint of jealousy.

"Oh, don't get me started on that pig," Liza groaned, rubbing the top of her nose like she was fighting off a headache.

"He seems nice enough..." Sierra shrugged awkwardly. "Must feel good to have someone crushing on you."

"Not really," Liza stated bluntly as she sucked up her milkshake. "Besides, I know someone who's had his eye on you for a while." Her jade eyes swept around the room, deliberately avoiding the counter.

"Really, who?" Liza jumped back a little when Sierra grabbed her arm almost desperately.

"...It's not my place to tell..." Liza trailed off, pulling her arm out of Sierra's grasp and staring blankly out the window. "But I can give you a hint," she smirked as Sierra looked with anticipation. "He goes to our school."

Sierra looked as though she were ready to slap Liza. "Thanks. That helps a lot."

"Sorry," Liza chuckled, taking another drink of her shake. "Besides, where's the fun in me just telling you?" For an instant, the redhead's eyes flickered to the counter.

Soon, the girls began to talk about other things, including the school cafeteria's questionable food and the latest episode of their favorite soap opera. Liza was caught completely off guard when a familiar face burst in.

"Liza," Miko hurried over to the table, "where's Jack?"

"He's working the drive-thru, why?"

"My new friend Jake is here to take us out."

A blank stare.

"_Jake_," Miko emphasized, frustrated that Liza clearly didn't understand her code, "he's a _new friend?_ Drives a _silver sports car?_"

"Oh! Jake!" Liza bolted up as the hints finally clicked together. "Sierra, I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"O-okay. Wanna hang out tomorrow?"

"Sure, I promise," Liza smiled as Miko left to collect Jack. "Sorry about this."

"It's okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

Less than a minute later, the three teenagers rushed out the door. As the trio left the building, the man in the dining area glanced toward the door after them, a dark grin on his face.

~.~.~.~.~

Outside, the teens were greeted by a gleaming silver sports car. Twin red and blue racing stripes decorated its hood, roof, and trunk, and black flames adorned the doors. The sports car opened its doors as the humans approached and slid inside.

"Wow, nice ride, Jazz," Jack marveled at the mech's new vehicle mode as he buckled his seatbelt."

"Heh heh, pretty sweet, huh, Jack?" Jazz pulled away from K.O. Burger with an invisible smile. "The ladies here helped me pick it out!"

"Yeah, I do have good taste, don't I," Liza boasted from the front seat with no trace of modesty.

"Ahem!"

"Yeah, yeah, Miko helped, too."

Jack patted the exchange student's shoulder sympathetically as she pouted fiercely in the back seat. "So, where's Arcee?"

"The doc bot doesn't want her out and about yet," Jazz replied, "so he sent me to bring y'all back to base."

"So, Arcee told me you're a cyber ninja," Liza inquired, "what's that all about?"

"An alien robot ninja? Sweet," Miko cheered loudly from the back seat, forgetting all about her anger towards her redheaded friend. Jazz chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm before answering.

"From what I've looked up about your human ninjas, it's basically the same thing. Sneakin' around, martial arts, the occasional weapon."

"Sounds pretty cool," Jack smiled. Before the silver Autobot could reply, Ratchet's voice sounded through the radio.

"_Jazz, do you have the children with you?"_

"Sure do, doc bot!"

"_All right. When you drop them off here, meet Bulkhead further in the desert. We've detected another energon mine, but unfortunately, so have the Decepticons. He and Bumblebee will need back up!"_

"Gotcha, doc bot! Jazz out."

"We get to fight some 'Cons," Miko asked excitedly.

"Miko, didn't you hear? Jazz is taking us back to base," Jack replied with some exasperation. "Besides, it's dangerous!"

"Says the man who went to Cybertron," the black-haired girl groaned, folding her arms.

"I'm sorry, what?" Liza whirled around in the front seat. "You went where, Jack?"

"Uh, long story," the boy dodged, quickly glancing out the window. His stormy blue eyes flickered to Jazz's rearview mirror for an instant, but the sight made Jack's heart skip a beat. "Uh, Jazz? Might want to take a look behind you!"

As soon as the words left Jack's mouth, two guns formed from the doors of the two purple sports cars pursuing the silver Autobot. Jazz swerved and drove as fast as his engines would allow, hoping to lose their stalkers. No such luck, as more gunfire was seen blasting from the desert.

"Change of plans, kids," Jazz called out over the commotion, "we're gonna have to meet up with the others first!" The ninja screeched to a halt behind a boulder to let his human occupants out. Transforming, Jazz knelt down and whispered loudly, "y'all stay here until we're done with these 'Cons!"

"Yeah right," Miko scoffed, watching Jazz hurry into battle. When he was safely out of sight, she bolted from her hiding spot, running in the same direction.

"Miko, wait," Jack shouted and took off after the girl.

Liza almost followed, arm outstretched, but she stopped, knowing she'd never catch them. Sighing to herself, she leaned against the boulder and studied her surroundings. If Jack and Miko had run off to help, she might as well make herself useful, too. Lifting her foot, Liza began to walk towards her friends, letting out a shriek of surprise when she felt something metal wrap around her waist and lift her off the ground.

"Well, well," a smooth voice chuckled as the owner turned Liza around to face him, "if it isn't the little insect who ruined my paint job!"

Liza's face of shock and fear morphed into a defiant glare as she found herself staring into the crimson optics of Knock Out.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Please review before you go! More reviews mean more chapters!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It's nice to know people still care about this story.**

**Once again, this should be obvioius, but I don't own Hot Wheels. The reference practically wrote itself, though.**

Chapter Ten: Hostage

Liza squirmed and kicked as she tried to wriggle out of Knock Out's grasp, but the crimson Decepticon's hold did not falter. He snickered condescendingly as the human struggled.

"Did you honestly think you would get away with humiliating me like that?" Knock Out sneered as Liza continued to fight her way free. Growing tired of her struggles, Knock Out squeezed Liza tightly in his servo, grinning as the human fell still. Gasping for breath, Knock Out's captive glared at him directly in the optics.

"Put me down, you overgrown Hot Wheel!" Liza hissed as she tried to push herself out of Knock Out's grip.

"Heh, you're too kind, kid," Knock Out chuckled at the insult, "but, unfortunately, you're stuck with me." He raised his hand so that Liza was at optic level. "Lord Megatron has something special in mind for you." Before Liza could protest any further, the Decepticon medic morphed carefully around his hostage so that she ended up in the passenger seat of the crimson sports car.

"Hey, what-" Liza moved to open the door and escape, but the seatbelts quickly shot out of the seat like tentacles, constricting the girl so tightly she couldn't move an inch. Again, the redhead struggled against her bonds with all her might, but something moving in front of her face caught her eye. Looking up, Liza barely had time to dodge before a weak electric shock pierced her nose. The last thing she heard was the revving of an engine and Knock Out's taunting voice.

"Nighty-night, squishy."

~.~.~.~.~

"Took you long enough," Bulkhead shouted to Jazz over the endless stream of gunfire. He sent a Vehicon flying with his wrecking ball before it could get the jump on Bumblebee. "We're getting slammed here!"

Jazz didn't reply, instead taking the time to blast several more drones at almost blinding speed. When he wasn't firing blasts, the silver Autobot was gracefully dodging any kick, energy shot, and punch that was thrown his way, responding with powerful attacks of his own. The martial artist put his skills to good use, making quick work out of the Decepticon warriors with swift kicks and punches until only a few adversaries remained. When they finally retreated, Jazz turned to his comrades with a friendly smirk.

"You're welcome," he told Bulkhead half-teasingly. The silver mech almost jumped when he heard a voice nearby.

"Dude! That. Was. Awesome!"

Spinning around, Jazz was shocked and a little scared to see Miko running excitedly towards the three Autobots, Jack hot on her trail.

"What are y'all doin' here? I said to lay low until we was done!"

"Clearly, you've never met Miko," Jack sighed in exasperation.

"He's right," Bulkhead agreed, "she usually follows us on missions no matter what we tell her." Bumblebee nodded and chirped before noticing the absence of the third human.

"Wasn't Liza with you guys?" Bulkhead interpreted, curious himself. The large green mech grew confused when Jack and Miko looked around, apparently just noticing their missing friend themselves.

"She's probably back at the boulder," Miko realized, whipping out her cell phone. The three Autobots morphed into their respective vehicle modes and Jazz approached the duo.

"Hop in," he ordered calmly, opening his passenger doors, "we'll go pick her up and meet y'all back at base!"

"Gotcha," Bulkhead acknowledged and drove away, followed closely by Bumblebee.

The trio sat in a somewhat uncomfortable silence as Jazz drove towards the boulder he'd orginially left the teens at. Miko's phone was pressed to her ear, waiting for Liza to pick up, and Jack couldn't tell if Jazz was upset with them or not. He didn't seem like the type to be bothered very easily, but one never knew.

"She's not picking up," Miko finally spoke, hiding the worry in her voice. "You don't think something happened to her?"

"Well, it's not looking too good," Jack replied as Jazz reached his destination. The humans filed out of the sports car and Jazz knelt down in front of the boulder. Liza was nowhere in sight.

"This is a bad scene." The mech pressed a digit to his audio receptor before speaking again. "Bulkhead, Bumblebee, come on back. We got a situation."

~.~.~.~.~

"_So, you've managed to capture one of the Autobots' human pets, Knock Out?"_

"Yes I have, Lord Megatron. All alone in the middle of nowhere. It was almost too good to be true."

Knock Out's arrogant sneer was the first thing Liza heard when she began to flicker in and out of consciousness. When she finally managed to wake up completely, she froze in fear for a moment, remembering where she was and what had happened. Another voice, much darker and more gravelly than Knock Out's coming from the radio brought her from her thoughts.

"_I see. And who, pray tell, was the unfortunate insect?"_

"The newest of the bunch," the scarlet mech answered, "the redheaded femme...Liza, I think her name was. She's still out cold, probably has no idea what's going on, or what's in store for her." It was hard to miss the chuckle in Knock Out's voice; he was far too engaged in his conversation to notice that his prisoner had awakened.

"_Excellent. With the Autobots' precious pet in our clutches, it will be child's play to persuade them to-"_

"HEY!"

Out of nowhere, Liza screeched fiercely at the top of her lungs, scaring half a century out of her captor. A high-pitched feminine scream of terror and surprise escaped Knock Out's vocal processors, and he swerved violently off the road. Had the circumstances been different, Liza would have laughed at him until her sides hurt. But now, she had other things on her mind.

"You little brat..." Knock Out wheezed as he regained control of himself and returned to the road. Liza ignored him and stared directly at the radio speakers.

"What's going on here? What do you Decepti-creeps want with me?!"

"_Ah, hello again, _Elizabeth." Megatron's voice sent tremors down Liza's spine. If he was angry or startled by her outburst, he masked it perfectly; Liza could tell he was smirking darkly. _"A pleasure to speak with you again."_

"Cut the crap," Liza barked, hoping she sounded braver than she felt, "what do you want with me?"

"_All in good time, my dear,"_ Megatron calmly replied. The innocence in his voice infuriated Liza. _"You need not fear for your life, as you are of much greater use to us alive. No harm will befall you in our care."_

Liza scoffed at the warlord's reassurance. Maybe it was the fact that she was talking to him over the radio instead of face-to-face, but she wasn't as terrified of Megatron as she had been during their first encounter. And she didn't believe a word he was saying.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"_You don't have to," _Megatron began, _"but you can believe this: once the Autobots discover that we've captured you, they'll do anything to ensure your safe return."_

"And what would this 'anything' be, exactly?"

"That's none of your business, squishy!" Knock Out snarled, squeezing Liza tightly in the coils of his seatbelts. The girl winced, feeling her air supply constrict. Still feeling bold, Liza swirled her mouth for a moment before spitting on Knock Out's dashboard.

"Ugh! Disgusting human slime!" The red sports car swerved again, slightly this time, before growling. "You've got got guts, kid, I'll give you that." Another seatbelt snaked its way across Liza's mouth, acting like a gag. "But once we're done with you and the bots, you can kiss those guts of yours goodbye." Liza ducked and squirmed, trying to free her mouth. "Everything's under control, Lord Megatron," Knock Out said, "we'll be arriving at the coordinates shortly."

"_Good. I will leave you to it then."_ With that, the connection was severed. A small chuckle escaped Knock Out's vocal processor and his invisible optics flickered to his gagged hostage.

"You can glare at me all you want, girly. You're still gonna lead the bots to their doom."

~.~.~.~.~

"_Bulk, Bee. Any sign of Ginger yet?"_

"Negative, Jazz," Bulkhead replied with disappointment as Bumblebee whirred a corresponding answer. "We'll keep looking."

"_Roger. Jazz out."_

Bulkhead sighed as the transmission ended, praying that Liza hadn't been picked up by some Decepticons. "Any sign of her, Bee?"

"**Nope, nothing,"** the scout replied sadly. **"You don't think the 'Cons caught her, do you?"**

"Hope not," Bulkhead answered. "Miko still can't get ahold of her on her phone, though, so I'm starting to think that's the case."

As if on cue, an engine roaring entered Bulkhead's audio receptors. It was faint, but getting stronger with each passing second. Bumblebee must have heard it as well, because the yellow Autobot halted in his tracks and whirled around to face the sound. Off in the distance, the two mechs saw the small faraway shape of a red sports car speeding through the desert.

"Come on!" Bulkhead shouted, revving his own engine. "That could be Knock Out!"

Beeping in agreement, Bumblebee contacted Jazz as he sped off after his large friend.

~.~.~.~.~

Grunts and cries of frustration and strain were muffled as Liza kept fighting against the seat belts she was bound in. Her gag hadn't budged at all, and she swore she felt Knock Out squeeze her tighter as she struggled. Taking another rest to regain her breath (which wasn't easy due to the seat belt blocking her mouth), Liza felt her anger flare again when Knock Out snickered.

"Why don't you just give it up, squishy?" the evil medic taunted. "You're only getting yourself tired and we're almost there, anyway." Knock Out silently laughed when the girl's eyes widened like saucers. But instead of becoming frozen with terrified anticipation, Liza only struggled even harder against the seatbelts. Knock Out didn't have time to tighten the restraints when the red-haired female finally managed to pull one of her arms free. Wasting no time, Liza reached up to her face and tore the seatbelt gagging her away from her mouth.

"If you think I'm just gonna lie down and be a good little hostage, think again!" With that, she began to pull at the rest of her bonds, incurring several cries of pain from her captor.

"Ow! Hey, watch it! No you don't-" Knock Out moved to trap her again, but stopped himself when he followed Liza's emerald gaze to his passenger side rearview mirror. Behind him, a silver sports car was trailing behind the red Decepticon, and catching up fast. Liza felt her heart soar with hope and relief.

"Jazz!"

"If you want her, ninja, come and get her!" Knock Out shouted as his engine roared almost deafeningly and he raced off at blinding speed, sending his captive back into his seat.

Clinging to the bottom of the passenger seat, Liza scanned Knock Out's interior for anything she could use to aid Jazz and escape. Before she could formulate a plan, however, Knock Out was violent jerked to the side as Bulkhead's massive SUV form smashed into his rear.

"Hey, watch the paint!" Knock Out screeched in fury. "Do you have any idea how hard the bumper is to polish?!"

Bulkhead ignored him. "Let the human go, Decepti-creep, or you'll lose more than your paint!" he shouted angrily as Bumblebee whirred and beeped in agreement. The yellow bot followed Jazz's example and transformed his doors into guns, firing full blast at the red Decepticon.

In response, Knock Out whirled around to face his adversaries, driving in reverse. "All right," he mused calmly, "three can play at this game." Two guns emerged from the medic's doors and a rainstorm of plasma bullets showered on the three Autobots.

"Isn't there something you can do, Jazz?!" Jack shouted at the ninja over the noise.

"Not without crushin' Ginger, there's not!"

As the shootout continued outside, Liza clung to Knock Out's seat, trying hard not get flung around like a rag doll.

_Come on, Liza, think! _

Then, something caught her eye: Knock Out's steering wheel. As the Decepticon moved, the steering wheel rotated in the corresponding direction, controlling his movement. A triumphant gleam went to Liza's eyes as she quickly scooted over to the driver's seat.

"Hey, what-" By the time Knock Out realized what was happening, it was too late. Jamming the steering wheel to one side, Liza turned Knock Out away from the Autobots and slammed her foot on his gas pedal, driving away from them at an incredible speed. The vehicle constantly swung left and right as the human and Decpeticon fought for control of the wheel, but Liza's grip was unrelenting. As she steered Knock Out in various directions, it suddenly occurred to her how in over her head she was. Liza's father would have nothing to do with teaching her how to drive when she reached fourteen. June had taught her the basics of driving, but Liza had never gone to get her driver's license and hadn't practiced for months.

"Liza," Jack gasped, terrified for Liza's safety if Knock Out managed to regain control. Next to him, Miko cheered and shouted happily.

"All right, Liza! You show him who's the boss!"

"**What's she doing?!"** Bumblebee shouted to his comrades as they pursued the runaway sports car.

"Grr...stop that, you little-!" Knock Out growled at the teen as he yanked the wheel in another direction. If the glowing yellow dot on his radio screen was any indication, the pair was very close to Knock Out's destination. If he reached it with Liza in tow, she was as good as dead. A plan immediately formed inside Liza's head. It was extremely dangerous, but she'd have to take that risk.

Her only choice was to put Knock Out out of commission.

Seizing the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles turned white, Liza pulled the wheel off to the opposite direction as hard as she possibly could, throwing Knock Out off his path once again. She didn't move an inch as the inevitable approached.

"Wait, no! Stop!"

Knock Out was too late. His hood crashed into the cliff wall at high speed, destroying his entire front. The headlights blinked out in seconds and car parts went flying in every direction.

"No! Liza, no!"

Jazz and the other Autobots raised a small dust storm, screeching to a halt inches from the wreck. Jack and Miko scrambled out of Jazz as he morphed into bipedal mode. Bulkhead rushed over to Knock Out's crumpled vehicle form and tore off his driver door effortlessly. The sight inside was gruesome to the Autobot; broken glass everywhere and a decimated radio and dashboard. The airbag was deployed as well and was inflated to its maximum capacity. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Bulkhead was surprised that Knock Out even had airbags. Leaning against the white cushion was an unmoving Liza. Her eyes were closed and there were several cuts all over her body. There was no seatbelt over her chest, either.

"No, no no," the green titan cried, panic entering his voice as the other humans hurried over.

"Come on, speak to me, Liza!" Miko pleaded, tears threatening to spill from her brown eyes. Jazz knelt down between Miko and Jack and pried Liza from the wreckage as gently as he possibly could.

"Come on, kid, speak!" Bumblebee peered over Jazz's shoulder and softly poked Liza with his digit, whining in terror when she didn't respond to the touch.

Jack just stared up at the girl's frame lying motionless in Jazz's servo. A tear crawled down the raven-haired boy's cheek.

_No, it can't end like this. Not now, not after all she's been through!_

Just as everyone began to hang their heads and let the tears fly, a tiny groan sounded through the air. Attention whipped to the redhead lying in Jazz's servo as she finally began to stir. Her emerald eyes fluttered open and she smiled at her friends.

"Hey, guys."

"Liza!" Miko shouted ecstatically, her tears of devastation turning to tears of joy.

"Thank Primus!" Jazz cried, kneeling down so the organic could interact with the humans better. Bumblebee cheered and whirred happily, jumping up and down and pumping his fists in the air. Liza had to chuckle at the yellow scout before turning to the others.

"Everyone okay?" She asked, attempting to sit up. A cry of pain escaped her mouth and the ginger promptly returned to her previous position. Her hand clutched the area below her breast and she took in sharp gulps of air to suppress the pain.

"Well, we're all fine, but it doesn't look like you're doing so great," Jack observed with concern.

"I'll be fine," Liza brushed him off, "it's just a little tender right – OW!" Tears streamed down the girl's face when she pressed down on her chest.

"C'mon now, let's get you to the doc bot," Jazz gently ordered. He stood up and stopped when Liza pointed at the destroyed scarlet sports car.

"What about him?" she asked. "Is he dead?"

"Nope," Bulkhead shook his head with some venom in his tone, "just out cold. He'll come back online eventually."

"Interesting," Miko piped up, "Knock Out got knocked out."

Everyone chuckled at the weak joke when Jazz pressed his free hand to his audio receptor.

"Doc bot, we need a bridge!"

~.~.~.~.~

"Ungh..." Knock Out moaned bleakly as he finally flickered back online. He felt like the Pit and soon discovered why.

"That little brat! When I get my servos on her..." he vowed murderously before the sound of a jet engine entered his audio receptors. Every circuit in Knock Out's being quickly turned from furious to terrified as a loud thud sounded behind him, followed by deep approaching footsteps. Looking up, Knock Out saw the glowing blood-colored optics of Megatron boring into his very spark. The warlord looked far from pleased, both his servos were placed impatiently on his hips. Knock Out had promised a hostage, and was not looking forward to delivering the bad (and rather humiliating) news.

"Um...funny story."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Please review before you leave! It lets me know that you're reading and want me to continue!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to Autobot00001 for helping me with this chapter.**

**Sorry this is so late, everybody! Had to get settled into college life and deal with some writer's block. Hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter Eleven: Parents

"You did _what?!"_

Every human and Autobot in the main room cringed at Ratchet's ear-shattering shout when he learned what had transpired in the desert. Liza groaned in pain as Jazz somewhat reluctantly handed her to angry medic.

"What was I supposed to do, lie down and be a good little hostage? If I hadn't crashed Knock Out, I'd be at Megatron's mercy right now!"

"You should have waited for Jazz and the others to rescue you," Ratchet retorted with exasperation, though his voice had softened considerably.

"**Well, to be fair, Knock Out was starting to get the upper servo,"** Bumblebee admitted with a small amount of shame. **"Liza's probably right."** Ratchet ignored him, glaring directly at the silver mech behind Bumblebee, who was carrying Jack and Miko on his shoulders.

"Jazz, didn't I ask you to bring the children to base _before_ engaging the Decepticons?"

"We got jumped before we could make it," Jazz shrugged apologetically. The doctor sighed in irritation and turned back to the redhead in his servo. His bright blue optics flickered and clicked quietly as he scanned her.

"You have three broken ribs and two bruised ribs," Ratchet announced. "There isn't much I can do to speed the healing process up, but I can bandage your chest if you'd like."

"You said there wasn't much you could do to help the healing," Liza replied with a strained voice as she tried to sit up. It proved to be too painful, though, and she quickly returned to her back, panting quietly.

"It won't help the bones heal, but it may discourage you from taking deep breaths and make it less painful."

"All right then," Liza agreed. With that, Ratchet nodded and carefully carried the injured girl to the med bay. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the pair entered the giant doorway down the hall.

"Liza! What happened?"

Wincing in pain as her body shot up, Liza smiled weakly at the voice's owner.

"Hey, Arcee. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Liza," the cobalt femme answered irritably. "What. Happened?"

"I…had a little…run-in…with…Knock Out!" Liza shouted in pain as her shirt was suddenly yanked from her body. Whipping her head up, the redheaded teen glared at the medic bot. "I was doing just fine on my own!" Ratchet only scoffed in reply.

"Puh-leeze, you were barely moving your arms at all!"

Liza rolled her eyes in exasperation and opened her mouth to continue her story, but Ratchet cut her off again. "You'll have to remove your undergarment, too."

The red-haired girl's face shot up to the medic's in shock, almost not believing what she was hearing. But the look in his face told her he was very serious. Groaning in embarrassment and anticipation, Liza willed herself to fight through the pain as she reached for her back.

~.~.~.~.~

"Prime!"

Every human and Autobot in the computer room flinched at the familiar booming voice. Within seconds, the Autobot commander was approaching the monitor. His calm demeanor was in stark contrast to that of his caller, who looked absolutely livid.

"Agent Fowler," Optimus addressed in his usual business-like tone. Without waiting for him to continue, Fowler spoke angrily.

"What's this I hear about a civilian being injured by a Decepticon?!"

"Agent Fowler, it's all right," Jack hurriedly explained, raising one hand, "it wasn't a stranger, it was Liza!"

"Yeah, and she had to crash him, otherwise she'd be toast right now!" Miko cried. Jack inwardly groaned, resting his face in his hand. Now she had done it.

"She_ what?!_ What do you mean 'crash him'?!"

"Nice going, Miko," Bulkhead muttered at his charge, earning him a dirty look.

"She was kidnapped by Knock Out, Agent Fowler," Raf said, "he was gonna take her to Megatron and the Decepticons were gonna hold her hostage! She didn't know what else to do, it wasn't Optimus's fault!" Ignoring the younger boy, Fowler quickly rounded on Optimus once again.

"You allowed a human to be captured by Decepticons?!"

"Hey, listen, Fowler! Optimus wasn't even there!" Bulkhead shouted angrily, clenching his servos into fists. "Don't go blaming this on him!" In his rage, Bulkhead snatched a nearby gadget and thrust his fist in the monitor's direction, crushing the small machine to bits as if to threaten Fowler.

"Calm yourself, Bulkhead," Optimus commanded, holding his arm out. Bulkhead obeyed his leader and stood down, but kept glaring dangerously at Fowler. "I can assure you, Agent Fowler that Elizabeth is now in Ratchet's care, and we are planning to keep her here at the base with us to ensure that she makes a complete recovery."

"Hmph." It was obvious that Fowler still plenty angry with Optimus for allowing Liza to be captured and harmed, but as there had been no lasting harm done, there was little he could do at the moment. "Make sure this doesn't happen again, Prime," he said grimly, "or I'll have to make good on the threat to shut down your base." From the look on his face, it was clear that this was the last thing Fowler wanted. As he finished speaking, the monitor fizzled out before going blank again.

"I can't believe that guy!" Bulkhead cried in exasperation, still clutching the destroyed gadget. "Every 'Con attack, every car crash, every little fender bender, he blames on us!"

"Agent Fowler was right to be concerned for Elizabeth, Bulkhead. She was put in very real danger today." Optimus said.

"I know," the green wrecker grunted in defeat. "Still, Liza came back in one piece, didn't she?"

Off to the side, Jazz pressed a digit to his comm. Link. "Yello? Jazz here."

"**It was still a close call,"** Bumblebee shrugged. Bulkhead didn't answer. Instead, he turned to Jazz and saw that the newest member of Team Prime had morphed into the silver sports car.

"Where are you going?"

"Out for a little drive," Jazz answered casually, "the little lady's mama wants to come by and check on her." Without waiting for more questions, Jazz sped out the underground exit, leaving Bulkhead and Bumblebee standing there confused.

"**Wait…I thought Liza's mom was dead."**

~.~.~.~.~

"Augh!"

Tears streamed down Liza's face as she stubbornly tried to silence her cries of pain as Ratchet tightly wound the bandages around her chest. She was failing quite miserably. Inhaling sharply through clenched teeth in a vain attempt to dull the sharp pains, Liza was beyond relieved when Ratchet told her that he would only have to constrict the bandages one more time.

Arcee watched with concern as Liza panted heavily while Ratchet finished wrapping her chest. The pair had long since given up trying to talk while Ratchet worked, so the sapphire femme was left to wait a little longer to hear her charge's story.

When she got her servos on Knock Out…

"There, that will do it," Ratchet finally stated. Liza dropped to her knees and breathed deeply. She was just about to thank the doc bot when Ratchet rolled his aqua optics behind her at her dramatic behavior.

"Humans are so weak sometimes," he grumbled as he turned to walk away. At this, Liza glared sharply in the departing medic's direction.

"Hey! Want me to snap those wires in your chest so you can see how it feels?"

Ratchet halted briefly in surprise – he'd obviously meant to talk under his breath. Pulling himself together, he gave Liza a condescending half glare. "I'd like to see you try." He scoffed. "You're welcome, by the way."

Liza sat in angry silence as the door whirred shut behind Ratchet. Of course she was grateful for his help! But sometimes his attitude just made her blood boil with rage; without realizing it, the redhead's hands had clenched tightly into fists.

"Easy, girl."

Arcee's outstretched digit brought Liza back down to Earth and the teen saw that she had begun to rise to her knees. Sighing in frustration and shame, Liza sat back down and hung her head, half aware that Arcee was leaning down in concern.

"It'll be okay," the older femme reassured the girl, "that's just how Ratchet gets sometimes. Gets on all of our nerves, really."

Liza didn't move for several moments. "We're not weak."

"What?"

"Humans aren't weak. Is he the one who was kidnapped by a Decepticon today? Is he the one who was almost killed while escaping from said Decepticon? Did he have to make the decision to either become a helpless little hostage or nearly get crushed trying to avoid being captured? Is Ratchet the one who cried himself to sleep in his closet _every night_ never, knowing if he would live to see the next day, or the day after that?!"

The tears had begun to fly again, and Liza did nothing to hide them this time. Arcee just sat, stunned at what she was hearing.

"Was he afraid to go home every weekend – every _night_ – to endure another week's worth of torture and terror? _I don't think so!"_

Liza fell to her knees again as sobs racked her body. She knew her fury at Arcee was sadly misdirected, but something about Ratchet's comment had pushed her over the edge; she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Liza, I…" Arcee was at a complete loss for words; had Jack and June known that Liza had felt this way?

"And what about the people who risk their lives every day to protect their homes and their families? How can you call that weak?" She sighed heavily as more tears flowed from her bright green eyes. "I'm sorry, Arcee. This isn't your fault, I shouldn't be yelling at you like this."

"Liza…was that really what it was like for you…every night?" Liza didn't answer, only hung her head and sobbed quietly, which Arcee took to mean 'yes'. Sighing softly, Arcee scooped Liza into her servos and looked her directly in the optics. "Liza, I want you to listen to me very carefully." The cycle bot's voice was firm, but held no anger or contempt. "You are _not_ weak. Anyone else in your situation might have died or been permanently damaged by what you went through. But you didn't. You had Jack, Miko, Raf, and June to help you, and with their help, you survived your abusive home. You _beat your father._ And today, you beat Knock Out and Megatron."

Looking straight into Arcee's optics, Liza blinked at the sincerity in her voice.

"And you're right, humans are not weak. More fragile than Autobots, yes, but not weak. Don't let Ratchet or anyone else tell you otherwise, got it?" Liza nodded as her tears began to taper off.

"Thanks, Arcee." Liza's voice was still shaky and she sounded a little hoarse. "I know Ratchet's always like that, I don't know why I lost my temper like that. It shouldn't bother me, but…"

"You're right," Arcee agreed with a hint of amusement, "Ratchet's not exactly our ray of sunshine. That's more of a Bumblebee thing." A small smirk formed on Arcee's faceplates when she heard Liza chuckle. "But I can see why this felt like a personal attack. Just the wrong thing to say at the wrong time, I guess." Liza nodded, but wasn't really comforted by this. "But deep in his spark…_way_ deep down…I know he cares."

"He has a strange way of showing it." Liza said, unconvinced.

"Hey, if Ratchet didn't care, he wouldn't have gotten so upset when he found out what you did, right? And he wouldn't have bandaged your chest for you. Plus, between you and me, I walked in on him hounding Optimus several times about bringing you to the base for protection before you came to live with Jack, and the pictures I sent of your condition made him furious."

Liza recoiled. She had no idea Ratchet had even known what her life was like with her father. "Wow."

"Want me to talk to him about it?"

"No," Liza quickly answered, "he doesn't need to know about this." Smiling, she looked up at her guardian's face. "Thanks a lot, Arcee. You're a great friend." The red-haired teen grasped the blue Autobot's digit in place of a hug.

"Of course, Liza. You know you can talk to me anytime."

The heartwarming moment was abruptly ended by the med bay doors swinging open and a woman's voice shouting loudly.

"Elizabeth Ann Darby! What on Earth happened?!"

~.~.~.~.~

Cries of agony echoed off the walls of the _Nemesis_ as Knock Out's body was tossed violently to the other side of the room. The crimson mech groaned miserably as he pushed himself off the metal floor, flinching at the deep footsteps approaching for the hundredth time.

"Get up, Knock Out," Megatron ordered impatiently, "and be grateful that your punishment was largely cosmetic."

As the large warlord walked away again, Knock Out could see from the unblocked light that his fresh coat of paint was indeed completely ruined. It would take him _hours_ to polish it again! Glaring in his leader's direction, Knock Out noticed Starscream smirking at him and whispering something to Barricade, probably glad it wasn't him being tossed around for a change. Knock Out was about walk over and wipe that smirk off the Seeker's face when Megatron spoke again.

"Not only do we have no prisoners to use against the Autobots – thanks to your incompetence, Knock Out – but we have no means of proceeding with the device's creation! It will take us far too long to harvest the necessary amount of Energon! And we have no bargaining chip to encourage the Autobots to hand over their own supply…"

Knock Out inwardly gulped at the look of death Megatron gave him, but he quickly recovered his usual cocky demeanor. "Forgive me, Lord Megatron, but we did manage to dig up something that could be useful."

"Oh? And what would that be, Knock Out?"

The red medic snickered and reached into his chest plates, pulling out a glowing purple shard. All optics widened in shock at the object in Knock Out's servo.

"Dark Energon!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks again to Autobot00001 for helping me out. You really have been a big help. :)**

**I know, I know, I'm a terrible person for making you guys wait this long. But hey, college life is stressful and I have other stories to work on. And I'm kind of addicted to the new Animal Crossing game. And I'm just plain lazy. ^_^'**

Chapter Twelve: Uniting

"Knock Out, where in Primus' name did you find this?"

Snatching the glowing grape-colored shard from Knock Out's servo, Megatron examined the substance thoroughly, making absolutely sure it was the real thing. Meanwhile, said Decepticon medic folded his arms smugly across his chest plates.

"In a small cave just outside the desert, my lord. Unfortunately, we weren't able to dig up much more before we detected an approaching Autobot and had to split."

Megatron looked at Knock Out, still fingering the shard of Dark Energon. "This shard alone contains more energy than most of the Energon we've collected thus far."

"And, my lord," Knock Out continued, regaining his usual smugness, "there's plenty more where that came from." As he strode over to a large computer, he heard Starscream muttering to Barricade.

"Awfully convenient that he could just pull out that shard when he needed it, don't you think?"

"Something you'd like to say, Starscream?" Knock Out glowered dangerously.

"No," the Seeker stated innocently, placing his servos behind his back, "I was just mentioning to Barricade how fortunate it is that you had the Dark Energon on servo to placate our leader. Almost as if you were holding out…"

"That's funny coming from the 'Con who was hogging all the Energon mining equipment." Knock Out sneered and folded his arms across his chest plates.

"I had perfectly valid reasons for doing that!" Starscream stomped his foot indignantly, fuming.

"Sure you did. You wanted all the Energon to yourself so you could make Lord Megatron look like an ineffective leader, then miraculously present loads of Energon and get all the glory to yourself, hopefully replacing Megatron as leader of the Decepticons in the process. Does that sound about right?" Knock Out smirked at Starscream's furious expression; had the Decepticon commander been organic, his face would have turned beet-red.

"Why, you - !"

"_Enough!"_ Megatron thundered, causing the three mechs to jump in fear and making more than a few Vehicons cringe. Sighing loudly like a frustrated parent, Megatron turned to Knock Out. "I suggest you show me the location of the Dark Energon mine, Knock Out." He didn't need to finish his threat. Putting on a confident front, but still shaking visibly, Knock Out typed in the coordinates of the cave.

"There it is, Lord Megatron…yup! That human prison was right next to it!"

~.~.~.~.~

"J-June…" Liza stammered. "When did you…?"

"That's not your concern, young lady! I want to know what happened out there with…Knock Out, was it?"

Liza sighed. "Okay, here it is." As she told the story, June's face grew more and more terrified; when she reached the description of the crash, Liza half expected the woman to collapse. Behind her, Arcee listened closely as well. As much as she thought that Liza should have waited to be rescued, she had to admire her courage. Who knew the girl had such a reckless streak?

"Oh, Elizabeth!" June sighed tearfully, drawing the girl into an embrace.

"Ow! June, ribs!" Liza shrieked, prompting the nurse to release her at once.

"Oh, sorry," she chuckled. "As angry as I am with you for putting yourself in that kind of danger, I'm glad you're safe, Liza. Because you're right; who knows what the Decepticons would be doing with you right now?" she said more to herself than to Liza.

"And, June…you know my last name is 'Dowell', right?"

"Hm?" June turned back to the teen, confused. Arcee looked at the black-haired woman in surprise.

"My last name, it's Dowell, June."

"…What did I say?"

Liza studied the nurse closely…was she hiding something?

"You said 'Darby'. I know they both start with the same letter, but you've known me since…forever! You've never mixed them up before."

June bit her lip, searching for an out. Liza was right, she'd known the girl her whole life, now was an odd time for her tongue to slip.

"June," Arcee leaned down, trying to keep the suspicion out of her voice, "you have been kinda secretive lately. Something going on that you'd like to talk about? I can ask Liza to leave if you want."

Liza almost glared at Arcee for saying that, but managed to keep her composure.

The nurse shook her head. "No, I may as well tell you. It's going to happen within a few months anyway. If the two of you are able to walk, I can tell you out in the main room so everyone else can hear, too. But let's get your shirt back on, first." As she helped the teen dress and left the room, Liza's eyes widened with fear.

"Oh, man," she whimpered to herself, "it's happening. She's gonna give me away!" Wrapping her arm around herself, Liza tried to steady her trembling, jumping when Arcee spoke up.

"Relax, kid. You don't know that she's giving you away." As she spoke, Arcee lifted Liza into the palm of her servo, being careful of her broken ribs.

"I know," Liza relented, "but she hasn't said anything about keeping me and she won't tell us what those 'appointments' are about! She must be trying to let me down easy!"

"Liza!" Arcee quietly barked to stop the redhead's panicking. "Relax," she repeated, "it's gonna be fine. Let's just go out and see what she has to say." When Liza didn't reply and looked away, Arcee stepped out of the med bay and walked the short journey to the main computer room. June was standing in the usual sitting area with the couches. Lowering her servo, Arcee made sure Jack and Miko were supporting Liza before walking back to join the Autobots as the teens helped their friend climb the stairs.

"That hurt?" Jack asked when they reached the top. Liza was trying to be discreet about it, but Jack could see and hear her labored breathing.

"No, I'm fine."

Jack didn't answer, knowing she was lying. Instead, he turned to his mother, secretly just as concerned as Liza about what she had to say.

"Well, since we're all here now, I can begin," June said. "As you all know, when Liza's father was put in prison, I became her guardian – for the moment."

Liza instinctively clung to Jack's arm, terrified. The raven-haired boy gave her hand a gentle squeeze, but his own eyes widened.

"From the moment Raymond was arrested, I began arranging appointments with the adoption agency to see about Liza having a permanent home…with me and Jack."

The room was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop. Liza swore she felt her heart stop beating.

_W-what…_

June turned to the trembling teenager with a loving smile. "I've decided to adopt you, Liza."

Liza remained in a stunned stupor. She barely registered the others' reactions to the news: Miko cheering loudly, Raf letting out an elated laugh, and Bumblebee whirring and beeping in ecstasy.

"See, Ginger? I told ya there was nothin' to worry about!" Jazz crowed as he approached the balcony and stroked Liza's head with his digit, waking her from her trance. His smile grew even bigger when she turned and looked at him with pure joy. Behind him, Liza saw the rest of the Autobots looking just as pleased with the news as Jazz, even if some of them (namely, Ratchet) tried to hide their enthusiasm.

The celebration was cut short, however, when a loud beeping sounded from the main computer. The room fell silent as Optimus pressed a key, summoning Agent Fowler's face to the monitor. From the man's expression, everyone could tell the situation was grim.

"Prime," Fowler addressed solemnly. "I have some really bad news. Decepticons have been spotted ravaging an island near the Hawaiian Islands and it looks like they've got their mitts on something."

"Energon?" Bulkhead asked, growing concerned.

"No, the dark stuff," Fowler replied. Gasps of horror echoed throughout the base.

"I thought the last of that stuff was destroyed!" Arcee cried.

"It gets worse," Fowler said darkly. "The island is where one of the country's high-security prisons is located – or rather, was located. Every inmate has been accounted for…except for one."

"Who's that?" Jack asked, a sick feeling in his stomach. His heart dropped at Fowler's reply.

"Raymond Dowell."

~.~.~.~.~

"Get your giant metal hands off me!"

Knock Out sighed in frustration as he walked through the corridors of the _Nemesis_, his new tool in hand. He wasn't looking forward to presenting Megatron with a human that didn't belong to the Autobots, but he was sure that the warlord would agree with his plan once he heard him out.

"Shut it, squishy!" Knock Out squeezed the man tighter, grinning when he gasped in pain. _Easy to see where she gets it from._

Finally, the medic reached the main control room, prompting the Decepticon leader and Starscream to turn from his project to face the newcomer. His blood-colored optics immediately landed on the human in Knock Out's servo.

"And what, pray tell, is this, Knock Out?" Megatron looked far less than pleased. "Our mission was to extract all the Dark Energon we could from the island, not pluck up humans! He has no connection to the Autobots!"

"Maybe," Knock Out shrugged, "but he knows someone who does. Look at him; red hair, green optics, any of that sound – or look – familiar, my lord?"

"Put me down, you oversized tin can!" the man shouted, his unkempt red hair flailing as he pounded his fists against Knock Out's servo.

"Silence, human," Megatron commanded, earning a glare. Now he could clearly see that the man did indeed have bright green eyes. "Tell me, what do you know of the Autobots?"

"Pfft! I don't know a thing about any Autobots! Now let me go!"

Still, his captors ignored him.

"Well, then tell me, human, do you recognize this girl?" Megatron turned around and pressed a key on the giant computer's keyboard, bringing up the picture of Elizabeth Dowell. He grinned darkly when the human burst out in anger.

"My little monster of a daughter?!"

**I wanted to make the chapter longer, but it's almost 2 AM now, and you guys have waited long enough as it is. Hope you enjoyed!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm sorry guys, it's just been one bad thing after another. Finals week was a nightmare; among the highlights were me getting soaked to the bone twice after walking across campus and back in a torrential downpour to find out that my appointment never got scheduled, I got sick to my stomach from stress and exhaustion, and a wasp found its way into our room again (I am deathly afraid of anything that stings). And then I had a bunch of laptop issues to deal with, such as Google Chrome crashing.**

**Then I got inspired for new stories, and pretty much everything but this story; thinking I may write a Powerpuff Girls fic soon.**

**So that's why I didn't update.**

**But, everything's fine now. Without further ado, enjoy chapter thirteen!**

Chapter Thirteen: Protection

Liza could practically feel the color drain from her face. Her jaw dropped open and she unconsciously stepped back from the monitor, feeling dizzy.

_W-what…? Raymond…Dowell…out of prison?!_

June gently grasped Liza's arms, staring at Fowler with an equally frightened expression. "Agent Fowler, are you sure?"

"Positive," the man nodded solemnly. "We've notified the authorities and if he's sighted, we'll make absolutely sure he's caught."

No one was relieved one bit by this news.

"Thank you, Agent Fowler," Optimus said. "Because of the risk to Elizabeth's safety, I think it may be best to keep her here at the base until Raymond Dowell is brought to justice."

Fowler frowned for a moment. He wasn't a big fan of the idea, but he couldn't think of a better one himself.

"Best to discuss that with her mom, Prime," he said, almost smiling at June. "We'll keep you posted on any activity we notice." With that, the monitor fizzled and went blank.

"Optimus," Ratchet hissed, "we are not equipped to have a human living here full time. She can't stay here!"

Liza half-glared at Ratchet's comment, knowing full well he was more worried about her getting in his way.

Optimus looked down thoughtfully; he hadn't fully considered that.

"You are right, old friend. However, we cannot very well send her home without the proper precautions." Turning to June and the two Darby teens, he continued.

"Ms. Darby, since Arcee is out of commission for the foreseeable future, Jazz will replace her as your family's guardian until she can return to her duties. In addition-"

"Optimus, with all due respect," June interrupted, "I think we'll be fine on our own as long as we have an Autobot protecting us. After all, this isn't a Decepticon threat. As long as Liza doesn't go anywhere alone, we should be fine."

Optimus hesitated. Sensing his leader's unease, Jazz quickly piped up.

"She's right, Prime! No bad apple's gonna get past ol' Jazz! Ginger and her family are safe with me!"

After a few tense moments, the Autobot leader nodded. "Very well, Jazz. You will assume your role as temporary guardian immediately. I want you to let us know if any suspicious activity occurs around Jasper."

"Will do, Prime," Jazz said as June checked her watch.

"It's getting late," she stated. "We should all be heading home."

~.~.~.~.~

"So you do know the girl," Megatron deduced from Raymond's outburst.

"That little wench is the reason I was put away for life! Just because my idiot neighbors didn't agree with my idea of discipline…"

Megatron inwardly grinned; he had seen the scars on Elizabeth's arms and now had a good idea of where they had come from. This man could potentially be useful.

"I see…tell me about these humans."

Raymond looked at Megatron with a baffled face. He'd never bothered getting to know the people across the street, what did they have to do with anything, anyway?

"I dunno, just some lady with her kid and a blue motorcycle."

A surprised gasp escaped the warlord's vocal processors. "You don't say," Megatron purred, a knowing grin crossing his face. "Did the motorcycle seem at all…different to you? Suspicious, even?"

"Not really," Raymond shrugged impatiently. "I mean – the kid got it outta nowhere and it seemed weird that he could afford it. Why? What does this have to do with anything?" The convict's voice raised a few notches before Knock Out squeezed him tightly.

"Quiet, you! We're trying to help you here!"

With the human silenced, Megatron continued. "The boy's motorcycle is, in fact, an Autobot in disguise." When Raymond looked at him blankly, clearly baffled, Megatron went on to explain about the war. "So you see," he finished, "the Autobots have come to this planet to take all of Earth's natural resources and when they've collected all they need, they will return to Cybertron, leaving us Decepticons stranded, doomed to rust away."

Raymond listened with mild interest.

"With the exception of the Autobots' pets and certain government officials, the human race is unaware of our presence. As such, the authorities will not think to search for you aboard our ship or with other humans. Likewise, the Autobots will not be looking for a human that works for us."

"'Works for us'? What exactly does _that_ mean?" Raymond snapped and gave Megatron a wary glare. First these giant scrapheaps kidnapped him and rambled on about their enemies who had coincidentally been his neighbors, and now they had the nerve to demand his assistance?

"Watch your tone, human!" Megatron retorted, becoming fed up with the man's lack of respect. "I am proposing that you accompany Knock Out on his missions to spy on the Autobots. Most of their activity appears to originate from Jasper, Nevada, the town you lived in, correct?"

Raymond nodded.

"For the next several weeks, you will accompany Knock Out to Jasper, acting as a human spy for us. You will watch the human children the Autobots have become so attached to, especially the humans who took your daughter from you. I need one of the children brought here intact if my plan is to succeed."

"What's in it for me?" Raymond asked, folding his arms.

Megatron smirked, knowing the redhead would leap at his offer. "We will provide you asylum from the authorities hunting you. And when your part is through, you will be permitted to take your revenge on Elizabeth."

"You're not the only one who's got a score to settle with her," Knock Out sneered at the human in his servo. "So, what do you say?"

Raymond gave the crimson medic a bloodthirsty grin. "I'm in."

~.~.~.~.~

The silence was deafening as Jazz pulled into the Darby garage. Needless to say, this was not the ride home June had planned on after announcing the adoption; Optimus had insisted she leave her car at the base and travel home with Jazz that evening for her own safety. In the back seat, Jack sat next to Liza, grasping her hand in a reassuring manner. While she was grateful for the support, Liza just stared out the window, still trying to grasp the fact that her father was out there once more, and would most likely come after her again. When Jazz slowly halted in the garage, June heaved a sigh and grasped his steering wheel. She was scared, but she had to be strong for both of her children. Struggling to find the right words, June finally gave up and turned around.

"Come on," she gently ordered, "let's go inside and get some sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning." Jack and Liza unbuckled their seatbelts in silence, Liza still completely numb. As she headed for the door, Jazz's voice rang out and stopped her.

"Hey, Ginger?"

Liza turned around. It almost hurt Jazz how scared she looked behind that stoic face.

"It's gonna be all right. Trust me. Your dad's not gonna get anywhere near ya." Jazz decided to claim a victory when the red-haired girl cracked a small smile and patted the top of the silver sports car.

"Thanks, Jazz."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

**Again, I apologize for the wait and how short this is.**


End file.
